Reigning On Me
by sryboutyodmnluc
Summary: Meet Harleigha Monroe who's life is about to go from ordinary to extraordinary. Going from a semi-well known fashion designer in New York she puts in an application to the company of her dreams. Does she or does she not get the job? And who does she meet along the way that could change her heart, mind, and soul forever. Hang tight this one is going to be fun!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Life Changing

" _ **Hello is this Harleigha Monroe?"**_

"This is Harleigha speaking."

" _ **Hello Harleigha, this is Triple H speaking. I'm calling to tell you that we received your application. We're really impressed and we were wondering if you were interested in coming up to HQ to come talk to us about working for us."**_

"It would be an honor to come speak to you all."

" _ **I was hoping you'd say that. We've been wanting to get in contact with you for a while. A lot of the divas backstage have been talking about your work and it was an absolute shock to see your name come across our desk."**_

"I've actually always wanted to work for you guys. Never thought I'd get the chance though. It means a lot that the divas like my work. It would certainly be my pleasure to do some work for them."

" _ **That is music to my ears! How soon can you get up here?"**_

"Whatever is convenient for you sir."

" _ **How's Friday afternoon at 2:00?"**_

"That's fine with me. I was already scheduled to be off this weekend anyway so that's perfect timing."

" _ **Great we'll see you soon"**_

"Thank you for this opportunity."

" _ **You're very welcome. Have a good rest of your day Harleigha."**_

"You too sir." With that the call was ended.

Standing in her living room Harleigha didn't know whether to scream or cry tears of happiness. Working for WWE was a dream of hers since she was a child. At 28 years old and being with her current place of employment for almost seven years she thought that she'd never get the chance. It's not that she didn't enjoy her job she just wanted to spice things up a bit. Coming home on Monday night's one thing she would enjoy about Raw was being able to come up for ideas for the divas. She was so excited now that she might officially get the chance to live out her dreams.

 _Four days later…._

Straightening out her black and white romper on her five foot eight frame, Harleigha stood in the front of the bathroom mirror of her hotel room and took her long black hair and put it in a high bun with a flowery laced headband to finish off her look. Today was her big day. Getting in a good night's rest she looked completely rested and her dark skin complexion was standing out more so than usual. Putting on some simple bracelets and her big Betsey Johnson watch, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door. It was going to take her about thirty minutes to get to WWE HQ but she left herself enough time so that she wouldn't be late. She might be in fashion but "fashionably late," was not something she ever did. As she got closer to reaching her destination she started getting butterflies in her stomach. This was about to be a life changing moment for better or for worse. She was mentally telling herself all the things she shouldn't do in this interview. The main thing she told herself was shut down on all the sarcasm. She didn't think they were quite ready for all that.

Pulling up to entrance the attendant at the gate asked her who she was and the reason for her visit.

"Hi, I'm Harleigha Monroe and I'm scheduled to see Triple H at 2:00."

"Okay one second while I let him know that you've arrived."

Speaking into a walkie talkie Harleigha overheard her speaking to someone. It didn't take long for them to buzz her through the gate. Handing her a guest badge, she told her to pull through and where the parking garage was located.

"Thank you." she said as she pulled through and made a sharp left turn to where the parking garage was in the back. It took her about five minutes to find a parking spot leaving her with about fifteen minutes to spare. All but doing a flat out run, she reached the elevator in the garage and hit the down button that would lead straight into the front entrance of the building. Walking up to the front desk she introduced herself once again.

"Hello ma'am I'm here to see Triple H."

"What's your name?" said the secretary

"Harleigha Monroe."

Picking up the phone the secretary dialed a number. It took what sounded like three rings before the person answered.

"Hello, sir I have a Harleigha Monroe here to see you…..okay I'll let her know." Hanging up she turned to her.

"Ma'am he said he'll be right down and you can go ahead and have a seat in the lobby while you wait."

"Okay thank you so much." She said as she turned and found a seat on a nice black leather couch. Looking at her phone she saw that it was 1:50, before turning off her phone she replied to a few texts of congratulations that she received while she was on her way there. Once she was finished, she placed the phone in her purse and started playing with her hands trying the calm herself down. She'd never been so nervous for something a day in her life. This meeting was so important and she didn't want to blow it so she started doing what she did best. Taking a deep breaths, she closed her eyes and just concentrated on the beat of her heart. Once she felt her heart rate slow down, she opened her eyes and watched as her hands stopped shaking and she didn't feel like her body was about to combust. Just as she was about to do it again for good measure she heard the elevator ding and Triple H along with Stephanie walked out of the elevator and headed towards her. Standing up she straightened her romper out again.

"You must be Harleigha?" asked Stephanie

"Yes ma'am I am." she replied as they shook hands

"I've been hearing rumblings of your name lately and last night I was shown your work. You really have amazing talent and my husband couldn't officially tell you over the phone that we wanted you for the job but I'm here to tell you that you're hired." Stephanie said with a huge smile on her face

"Wait are you serious?"

"Yes! We called your employer and we told them about this. We know you have many dealings back in New York but we've worked it out so that you can finish up those and start working for us full time. We understand the next two or three weeks will be a rough schedule going between both jobs but we're definitely willing to work with you on that as best as we can."

"Wow I don't know what to say Stephanie."

"Hopefully you'll say yes."

"Well of course this is an amazing opportunity and I'd be crazy to pass it up."

"Well welcome aboard then!" said Triple H

"How would you feel about flying out with us this evening and heading to a live show that's supposed to be in Baltimore tonight? We'd let you meet the talent and some of the first people that you'll be doing gear for. WrestleMania is right around the corner so we were hoping that after talking to some of them tonight you could get started on some designs." asked Stephanie

"I carry my drawing pads with me everywhere I go so I'm up to the task of getting started tonight."

"Good that is good to hear. The divas will really be excited to have you onboard. I'll make sure they don't overwhelm you." laughed Stephanie

"Oh it wouldn't bother me any. I thrive on chaos."

"Then this is the perfect business for you." said Triple H

"So we'll pick you up from your hotel at 5:30 and head out. Where are you staying?" asked Stephanie

"About thirty minutes away at the Stamford Marriot Hotel."

"Okay great. We'll see you in a couple of hours. I know this was a bit of an unconventional meeting but we're really glad to have you with us."

"Thank you again for the opportunity." Shaking both their hands again Destiny headed out to her car with a huge smile on her face and peace in her heart. The job she always wanted was now hers for the taking. She was about to embark on a journey that years ago she thought would never be within reach. This was her time to shine and she was going to do her best to do right by her talent and her name. She was taught only you can create the life you want to live and with hard work, dedication and a little hope anything can happen. If she didn't take that chance and fill out that application, she'd be waking up tomorrow in the same apartment, catching the same train, and doing the same job. Not that she didn't enjoy her job but this is what she wanted and needed in her life and today it happened. At that moment EVERYTHING CHANGED.


	2. First Chance Meeting

Chapter 2: First Chance Meeting

Arriving back at her hotel about 3 Harleigha decided to take a quick nap before she had to get ready to leave. She figured it was going to be a long, nerve-wracking night and one thing that completely calmed her down was a nap with some jazz music playing in the background. Setting her alarm for 4:30 and putting some Kenny G on, she fell into a deep slumber. The moment her head hit the pillow she felt the stress leave her body that she didn't even realize that she had. It felt so good to just let her body relax even though naps in the afternoon could be dangerous for her. She's been known for turning 1-2 hour naps into to 5-6 hour ones and she couldn't afford that. Hopefully, she'd hear her alarm or she'd be swimming up a creek without a paddle.

An hour later she woke up not to her alarm but her phone ringing. Struggling to reach her phone from the nightstand she almost fell off the bed in her groggy state. Finally, grabbing the phone she answered.

"Hello." she said in a scratchy voice

" _ **Is this Harleigha?"**_

"Yeah." she was not in the mood to be talking to anybody right now when she had thirty minutes left to sleep. Whoever this was had about thirty seconds to get off the phone before she got bitchy.

" _ **Did I wake you?"**_

"Yes. Now may I ask to whom I'm speaking too?"

" _ **Oh I'm sorry. This is Alicia Fox"**_

"Um hello Alicia. How did you get this number?"

" _ **The talent just got a mass text saying that you've been hired here and if we had any questions to give you a call."**_

"Okay so since you're calling I'm assuming that you have a question."

" _ **Yes I do. I absolutely love your work and I was wondering if you could make something for me?"**_

"You'd have to ask Stephanie how this works but I wouldn't mind drawing something for you this evening if you like. Are you going to be at the Baltimore house show?"

" _ **Yes I am."**_

"Alright well we can talk over what you want when I get there."

" _ **Okay thank you so much."**_

"You're welcome Alicia."

Hanging up the phone she threw it back onto the dresser. Her hopes of getting in those last minutes of sleep was just squandered. Laying there for a few more minutes with her arm over her eyes she thought to herself this was going to be a rough road ahead of her. However, like she said earlier she thrives in chaos. Unfortunately, she left out the part where she thrives only in chaos that she creates. She struggles dealing with chaos that other people throw at her. This job was really going to teach her not to lose her cool every five minutes.

Getting out of the bed she packed up her belongings before taking a shower and changing into something less professional but still work environment appropriate. She decided on some gray and black tribal print leggings, a black pair of combat boots, plain white shirt, and her short gray leather jacket. After taking a shower and washing her hair, she tied it up into a high messy bun, and put on some light make up. By 5:15 she was checking out and waiting downstairs for Stephanie and Triple H to pick her up. It didn't take them long because a few minutes later she saw them pull up.

"Hello Harleigha. Are you ready?" Triple H greeted her

"As ready as I'll ever be. I'm a bit nervous but that's nothing new."

"Don't be everybody will love you. Especially considering I'm hearing the locker room is already a bit crazy hearing that you're on board."

"I bet. I already got a call from Alicia wanting me to make something for her." she laughed

"Oh really?!" he asked as he grabbed her stuff and put it into the trunk.

"Yeah" she replied as she climbed into the backseat of the limo where she greeted Stephanie.

After Triple H got into the backseat they headed to the airport where there was a jet waiting for them already fueled and ready to go. After everything was loaded onto the jet it took them about 45 minutes to reach Baltimore from Stamford. By quarter till seven they had arrived at the arena and Stephanie and Triple H told her to wait by the backstage entrance while they set up a room for her to work in for the evening.

Twiddling with her phone, Harleigha hadn't noticed the presence that had come to stand right next to her.

"You lost?"

Jumping so hard, she almost dropped her phone.

"Shit! Don't you know how to properly introduce yourself without giving someone a heart attack?"

"No not really."

"Well you might want to learn." she smirked up at the figure standing next to her

"I'm sorry. Let me start over beautiful. I'm Seth Rollins and I'm one third of the most dominant faction to ever step into a wrestling ring." he said as he put out his gloved right hand for her to shake.

"I'm Harleigha most people call me Leigha though, and side note I knew who you were I just wanted to see if I could get you to work on your introductions." she laughed as she shook his hand.

"Hmmm….you're a slick one I see. Looks like we'll get along just fine."

"Oh I doubt that. I don't think you could handle this even if you tried and got paid a million dollars to do so."

"Underestimating me already. I'm going to have to fix that."

"I'll gladly watch you try."

"Already on the new meat Rollins? Just can't stop can you?" said a deep voice. Before even turning around Harleigha felt chills run down her spine and her body getting hot. That voice was so deep and strong she would bet her life that it was the sexiest voice on the planet. Taking a deep breath before turning around, she was not ready for the body that accompanied that voice.

"Now you know I'm just being polite Reigns."

"Sure you are Rollins!"

Harleigha couldn't believe her eyes. The body that was walking in her direction was not one she thought would ever be within her reach. She was so used to seeing him on television but up close and personal was a whole different story. He was so much more massive in person. Reaching both her and Seth all Harleigha could do was stare. She analyzed every inch of this man's body. From the long black locks that were wet and hanging around his face, to those piercing gray eyes, the big lips that she would love to kiss, and the tattoo that ran down his right arm and the top of it that peeked out from the top of his wrestling gear. This man was fucking gorgeous and Harleigha was pretty sure she had no coherent thought left in her brain. Damn it she'd never been struck by a man in her life but they say there's a first for everything.

"I apologize for Seth here. He doesn't exactly have the best track record with the ladies."

"You make it seem like I'm completely incompetent Roman."

"Well you're something Rollins."

"Shut up."

"Guys guys! It's okay I've already taught him how to introduce himself. Now care to tell me who you are since we're on the topic."

"Be careful she's a slick one." said Seth

"I'll keep that in mind. I'm Roman Reigns now it's your turn."

Looking at him she thought to herself that he'd have to earn the right to learn her name. She wasn't going to make it easy on Roman. Not knowing where this growing confidence came from she decided that she was going to withhold her name from him for a while. She figured he'd learn soon enough.

"Hmmm….my name is for me to know and for you to find out. Oh and Seth don't you go telling him or you and I will have some issues." Winking up at Roman she grabbed her things and went in search for Stephanie and Triple H so she could get started on drawing the gear. Roman was going to be a big distraction but not enough that she'd get sidetracked from her work. Well that's what she thought. What she didn't know was that Roman was on a mission of his own to get to know her in more ways than just her name.


	3. Chapter 3: First Impressions

Chapter 3: First Impressions

 ****After this chapter uploads might take a bit longer. I apologize ahead of time I'm not neglecting it I promise. Patience will definitely be a virtue with this story so hang in there with me if you can. I'll try and get them up as soon as possible.** xo**

"So you gonna tell me her name now or later?" asked Roman

"I'll go with later."

"You're no help to me Seth. Why do you always make my life so difficult?"

"Because that's my job. Why do you keep asking that question?"

"I'm hoping one day I'll get a different answer." he laughed

"Don't count on it." Seth replied

Standing in the backstage entrance, Roman stared at the unknown woman as she made her way to the locker room. The way the evening sun hit her chocolate skin made him want to run his big hands up and down her arms. She was tall but thick in all the right places. He noticed she had strength in her walk and although he got the feeling she was a bit shy he knew she had some deep confidence hidden inside of her. This was a woman he wanted to get to know. He knew she wasn't going to be like any other woman he'd encountered before.

"Come on let's go find Dean. He's probably doing push-ups somewhere in this place." said Seth

Roman and Seth went in search for their charismatic best friend Dean Ambrose. However, they didn't make it far before an assistant came up to them saying that Stephanie wanted to speak to them right away. Stopping their search they turned down a hallway and arrived at a door which Roman knocked on before entering.

"Hello Stephanie. You wanted to see us?" stated Roman. As Seth stepped in behind him, he noticed that they were not alone. Aside from Stephanie, Dean was leaning against the far wall looking nonchalant, and sitting in a chair next to Stephanie was that gorgeous woman that he had just spoken too. He figured in the next few minutes he was about to learn a few things and he was all ears.

"Now that I have you all in here I want to introduce you to someone. This Harleigha Monroe and she is our newest seamstress and designer. I wanted you three to be one of her first projects for your WrestleMania gear. Since you all have about an hour before your match tonight I figured that you could get yourselves acquainted and start coming up with ideas." said Stephanie

"So your name is Harleigha. That's a unique name. Where'd it come from?" asked Roman

"Wait you guys have met already?" asked Stephanie

"You could say that." replied Harleigha

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"Well my mother loves her comic books so she put her own spin on Harley as in Harley Quinn. The Monroe came from none other than Marilyn Monroe. Most people call me Leigha though because my name gets butchered anyway."

"Which do you prefer?" asked Seth

"Either one will work. I'll answer to both honestly."

"Now that we've all introduced ourselves can we get started? I've got other things to do than sit around and watch some shit get drawn on a piece of paper." Dean said from the corner.

"Damn Dean, harsh much?" said Roman

"What I'm being honest." Dean shrugged

"I'll leave you all alone. Let me know if you need anything Harleigha."

"Okay. Thanks Stephanie." Harleigha replied as she watched Stephanie walk out the door.

Everybody pulled up a chair to the table that was in the middle of the room. Well, everybody except Dean who continued to stand against the wall.

"You just gonna stand there bro?" asked Seth

"Yep."

"Are you sure?"

"Seth you know I'm not one for repeating myself so stop asking me questions. Okay?"

"I apologize for Dean he's not normally like this." said Roman

"It's okay." Harleigha replied timidly

"I know it's okay sweetheart but thanks for confirming that."

Getting up from his chair Roman walked over too where Dean was standing. Dean pushed off the wall and got right into Roman's face.

"What's your issue tonight man?"

"I don't have one Roman. You seem to just be a bit defensive tonight."

"Nah you know you're being an ass right now and you know it so what's up?"

"Protective of the new meat already I see."

"Dean what the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't act like you don't want to fuck that chick raw right now."

"That's your issue right now? A pretty woman."

"No. That's not it. My issue is another chick who wants a taste of the Roman Reigns juice just so she can run back and tell her friends she fucked the big dog."

"I doubt that."

"Really, why don't I just ask her? Hey Harleigha you wanna fuck Roman don't you?"

He got no answer. Just a timid looking woman who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there right now.

"Exactly what I thought."

"Dean I know you are seriously not bent out of shape over no damn woman. As many chicks as you fuck in a week you don't see me or Seth complaining. Plus you act like I stay having road hoes. Nah that life ain't for me that's more Seth's territory. So why don't you check your attitude elsewhere or just shut the fuck up."

"Look I'll shut up but if you keep her around just know I don't like her."

"First off she works here jackass and second you just met her."

"It doesn't matter I don't like her. You two can finish up in here. Whatever you choose for our gear is fine with me." With that Dean stormed off into the hallway slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Harleigha had no idea what just happened. From the moment Dean stepped into the room earlier he gave her the cold shoulder. Most people didn't like her the first time they met her so she just shrugged Dean off. She was used to it by now. However, she certainly wasn't expecting that explanation. Yeah she found Roman the most attractive man on this gotdamn planet, but being some fast ho was not her thing. She had about two boyfriends in her "dating experience," but she didn't get them by laying on her back. Harleigha figured she should be offended by what Dean said but in reality she didn't really know how to feel. Nobody had ever come at her like that before.

"Are you okay?" asked Seth

Clearing her throat she replied "I'm fine but is your friend okay? He looks like he wants to fight."

Getting up from his chair Seth got up and walked over to where Roman looked like he was trying to calm himself down. They exchanged a few words while Harleigha just sat there staring, thinking that on her first day she was already causing problems. Whatever was going on between Roman and Dean was all her fault and she felt terrible. She didn't know what to do.

"Um we can do this another time if you like. Or I can see if someone else can make your gear for you. I don't want to cause any problems."

Turning around Roman walked up to her while Seth waited by the door.

"How about tonight you come on up and all of us can go over something. This is in no way your fault so stop that thought."

"How did you know I was thinking that?"

"It's written all over your face. Plus you look like you want to run for your life."

"Oh" she laughed shakily

"So tonight you'll come see us? I'll text you the hotel and room number."

"Sure that's fine."

"Cool. You want to come watch the match?"

"I would love to but I think I need a minute to myself."

"Don't beat yourself up to bad. You're not the first person Dean has gone full throttle at for no reason."

"I'd hate to know who else he came at like that." she mumbled

"I'm serious this wasn't your fault and I don't want you to wear yourself out trying to figure out what you did wrong."

"Thanks I'll take that into consideration. Good luck." Harleigha stayed planted in her chair while she watched Roman walk out the door behind Seth. He gave her a nod and a wink before disappearing out the door.

Letting out a huge sigh she laid her head down on the table in front of her. This was not how she expected her first night to go. She could learn to get over what Dean said but she didn't want people to start thinking that's why she was here. This was a job she always wanted and to have that slighted by some grown ass man who clearly had issues was not what she wanted. From that moment forward she had to prove not only to herself but to him and everybody else that she was damn good at her job and nobody was going to downplay her talents. Plus Roman didn't want her like that anyway. There were better more put together women out there than her that he could have. It was in his best interests to stay away from her. All she could bring to the table was a bunch of insecurities and he didn't need that in his life. Let's face it he was breaking charts with his sexiness and she was barely on a damn chart.


	4. Chapter 4: Tense

Chapter 4: Tense

After that tense encounter with The Shield, Harleigha really just wanted to curl up into a ball. However, she pulled herself together and met with a few more people. By 9:30 she had met with The Bella Twins, Naomi, Paige, Natalya and Alicia Fox. Stephanie had just come in and told her she had one last person to talk to that wasn't WrestleMania gear but another project to be done separately that was high priority. As she was grabbing a new drawing pad there was a knock at the door. Setting her stuff down she got up and answered the door.

"Hello are you Harleigha?" asked the person standing outside the door.

"Yes I am."

"I'm Eva Marie and I came to speak to you about some wrestling gear for my debut in a few months."

Putting her personal feelings aside Harleigha put on her professional face and let the redheaded woman into the room. She wasn't the biggest fan of Eva but since she worked here now she was going to have to tolerate the woman.

"Hello Eva go ahead and pull up a chair and we can get started."

"Great. I'm excited about this. Can't wait to show this locker room how it's done around here. I want to make a big statement with my debut. Can you do that?"

"Yeah I can. How big do you want to go exactly?"

"Pretty big but most importantly I want a full length red robe."

Harleigha started to draw as Eva described the robe to her. It took them a good twenty minutes to get a decent rough sketch of what she wanted and in the end it didn't seem like Eva liked it all that much anyway. She figured this project was going to be a rough road ahead of her.

"Look tonight I'll finish up a hard sketch of what you want, scan it to my computer and send it to you. From there you can text me anything you want changed or tweaked. You have my phone number right?"

"Yes I do and that works for me because I'm really not a fan of what we have going right now. I like the direction you went in it's just something is missing."

Looking at the drawing Harleigha didn't see much of problem with it but this was Eva's gear so she had no room to complain really. Whatever she wanted it was her job to deliver and that's what she was going to do. By the time they had figured out everything that needed to get done for her gear it was reaching 10:00 and the live show was about to end. After showing Eva out, she started packing up all her things. She had a long weekend ahead of her. From flying back in forth to NY, HQ, and getting back on the road by Monday, she was ready to get a good night's rest. On a mission to head to the hotel, she almost forgot that she was supposed to meet Roman tonight so they could go over their gear again. Grabbing her phone from her purse she checked to see if he had text her. He hadn't so instead of waiting around like an idiot she started to head out of the locker room to find someone that could take her to the hotel since she didn't have a car of her own.

"You looking for me?" said that voice that would forever give her chills.

Turning around she said "Umm…"

"I figured I'd rather come get you instead of texting you."

"Umm..."

"Are you okay Harleigha?"

"Uh yeah I'm good Roman. Are you sure Dean would be okay with this? I don't want to intrude. I can find another way to get out of here."

"Dean can pull himself together for like five minutes. One thing you'll learn around here is that we all look out for one another. I know you came here with Triple H and Stephanie so I figure you don't have your own car right now. So I'm offering you a ride which I hope you will accept."

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"I'm positive and if Dean opens his mouth he'll have to deal with me and I'm pretty sure he doesn't want a round two from earlier. Plus Seth likes you already so he's outnumbered two to one anyway."

"Okay." she said shyly while looking down at her feet.

As they walked out the arena, it was an awkward silence at first. Harleigha wasn't one for starting conversations. She particularly liked being alone and keeping to herself. So this was a new situation for her and she was inwardly freaking out.

"So tell me about yourself."

"I hate that?"

"What?"

"When people ask me to tell them about myself."

"Why?"

"Because I never know what to say."

"Oh. You're the first person I've ever heard say that." he laughed

"Really?!"

"Yeah most women tell me there whole life story when I ask that question."

"Well I wish I was more like that and had something to tell you but sadly I don't."

"I'm glad you're not actually."

"Why?"

"Because that means I have to work hard at trying to figure you out. And I want to figure you out."

"Good luck with that. I can't even figure my damn self out most of the time." she laughed

"Well I guess we're just going to have to figure you out together." he winked at her.

Harleigha felt her body starting to get hot again. She figured she was full on blushing like a fool and she wanted to kick herself for it. Why was she acting like some little school girl who had a crush on the star football player? She honestly couldn't wait to get away from this man because he was starting to have an effect on her that she wasn't remotely prepared for.

"Picking up stray pets already Roman?"

"Dean shut up I don't even want to hear it right now. You can fucking handle five minutes in a car with her."

"I probably could but I frankly don't want to. Why can't she hop a ride with one of the divas? Or better yet hitchhike and stand on the side of the road with her thumb out? Someone will gladly pull over for her. Or maybe not. Not my issue."

Harleigha hadn't realized she had scooted behind Roman like he was a shield. Dean really intimidated her and she wished in that moment that she had enough strength to stand up for herself. These past couple of hours she realized how much of a punk bitch she was.

"Dean stop being an ass for five fucking minutes. Shit. You're being immature as hell right now and frankly I don't appreciate you stealing my job." said Seth

"Awe look it's a tag team defense squad for the new meat."

Stepping from behind Roman she said, "Roman I knew this was a bad idea. He's right I can catch a ride with someone else. I think Nattie's still here with Tyson. Or I could just walk to the hotel it's about a mile away."

"Yeah let her walk. She probably needs the exercise anyway."

"Dean for the last time shut up. You're not walking Harleigha. It's way past 10 and half the locker room is about gone. Hop your ass in that passenger seat and we're going. Don't fight me on this." said Roman in a serious tone.

He grabbed her suitcase before she had a chance to turn around and start looking for another ride. So with all the willpower she had, her legs started walking towards the SVU parked a few feet in front of her. Unfortunately, she had to get around Dean in order to get in the car. Reaching for the car door she was about to open it but he beat her too it. Doing the unexpected he opened the door for her, took a bow and let her in.

"Thank you." she mumbled

"This is a one-time deal so I figured I'd be a gentleman just this once." He laughed in her face. Just as she was about to shut the door he jumped at her and shut it for her instead. She heard his laugh outside as he grabbed his things, put them in the trunk and hopped in the back. Roman was the last to get in and he was driving. He looked at her with a sad look on his face. It was like he was pleading with her to still put up with him despite Dean. She didn't know if she could. However, one thing she did know was that this was about to be the longest car ride of her life and she couldn't wait until she could get out.


	5. Chapter 5: No Turning Back

Chapter 5: No Turning Back

 ****I apologize for any typos or any missed words I try to proofread as best as I can.****

The five minute car ride from the arena to the hotel was absolutely torturous for Harleigha. She could feel Dean's eyes on her the whole time. It made her want to just jump out of the car and walk the rest of the way. She was so fidgety that she had to sit on her hands. The whole car ride she was silently asking herself "why didn't he like her?" It was a question she wanted answered but she was 100 percent certain that she didn't have the balls to ask him in the first place. Plus even if she did he probably had an answer that she most definitely wouldn't like. So she was just going to stay hush and go about her business as best as she could.

When they arrived at the hotel, Harleigha was out of the car before Roman even put the car in park. She was ready to get to her room and away from Dean as fast as possible. She didn't think she could handle his eyes on her any longer.

Walking to the trunk of the SUV she waited while Roman popped it from the front seat. As soon as she heard it unlock she pulled it up and grabbed her bags. Unfortunately, she was so nervous that she dropped her case with all her drawings and pencils. Scrambling, she tried to grab everything before it went flying all around the parking lot. As she went to pick up one of her sketch pads a large hand covered hers.

"Hey look at me."

She slowly looked up into those fierce grey eyes of Roman.

"Calm down. I know he's got you rattled but he's harmless."

"Yeah that might true for you and Seth but it's clear that doesn't extend to me." she said as she picked up her sketch pad and wiped it off before putting it back into case.

"I'll talk to him."

"No don't!" she felt her heart jump into her stomach.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want it to cause any problems between you two. I'm a nobody your friendship was here before I came along and I don't want to be the reason behind it falling apart."

"Are you sure? Seeing you like this is low-key killing me."

"Why? I really shouldn't matter that much to you. Roman you just met me, why do you care so much?" Standing up, she turned around to make sure she had grabbed everything. She'd be highly upset with herself if she missed picking up anything. Turning to walk away, she had every intention to head into the hotel. That was until Roman grabbed her and turned her around.

"Harleigha Monroe, I know I just met you but from the second I laid eyes on you I knew that you were special. You're more than just a beautiful person on the outside and I can tell you have an even better soul. I wish you would see that in yourself. Even if it takes me a lifetime I will show you that you are absolutely beautiful."

"Roman I appreciate that but…"

"No buts, when you're around me I don't want you doubting yourself. Understood?"

"Fine." She looked into his eyes and she knew that he knew that she was lying to both herself and him.

"Do you still want to work on these drawings tonight?" she asked him.

"Sure. I'll let you get settled in and we'll be right up."

While she waited for Roman to grab his stuff and lock up she noticed that Dean and Seth had left. She guessed it was a good thing that they weren't around to witness their encounter. Especially, Dean. She didn't need another notch against her. Together they walked into the hotel and went to the front desk to get there key cards and room numbers. Hers was on the 5th floor and Dean, Roman, and Seth were all on the 10th floor. She told him to give her twenty minutes then they could come down.

Arriving at her room, she threw her things on the bed and went in search for some comfortable clothes. Grabbing a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top, she went into the bathroom to take a quick shower and take her makeup off. It wasn't long before, she was out and dressed, contacts out, glasses on and her hair tied up into a messy bun. She went to the table that was by the window and put everything she needed on it. She grabbed a special sketch pad that was going to be dedicated just to The Shield. It was her mission to make there's absolutely perfect. I guess you could say she made them her pet project. While, she was waiting she pulled out Eva Marie's drawing and started tweaking some things but after a while she felt like she messed it up and decided to start over from scratch. As she was grabbing another piece of drawing paper there was a strong knock on the door. Putting her stuff down she went to the door. Looking through the peep hole the first person she saw was Seth. Taking a deep breath she opened the door wide.

"Hey guys." She said softly

"Well we meet again. Four times in one day for me. Are you trying to break a record?" asked Seth jokingly

"Not that I know of but if I am I hope my record is a good one." She replied

"Hmmm….quick witted I like it!"

"HA! I bet. Come on in." Moving to the side he walked in and plopped on the bed while Roman and Dean both took the chairs at the table. Locking the door behind her, she turned to three pairs of eyes on her each with a different expressions. Roman's was the most intense and she felt like he was looking right through her. It made her both squirm but hot at the same time. Clearing her throat she walked over to the table and sat down.

"You're full of surprises aren't you?" asked Roman

"What do you mean?"

"Tattoos? I would've never pegged you for a tattoo fanatic. You've got quite a few."

"I wouldn't consider myself a fanatic but I get them every once in a while." She shrugged it off. Harleigha got her first tattoo on her 20th birthday. It was a date in Roman numerals on her inner left bicep. It was simple to most but important to her. After that she would get them sporadically over the years. Her latest piece was one she drew herself and it was of Medusa.

"They look good."

Looking up she was shocked that the compliment came from Dean.

"Thank you." He just gave her nod which she took to mean "you're welcome."

"Alright enough about my tats. To make this quick and smooth so that we're not up all night. I want you each to throw out three ideas. From there we can narrow them down to what all of you can agree upon. From there I'll each draw you up one that is different but has the same elements that you all agreed upon. Does that work for everybody?"

They all nodded in unison. Seth was the first to give out ideas and some were a bit ridiculous to say the least. Pretty much anything he said got shot down by Roman and Dean. Watching their interaction she could tell that he lived a little on the wild side and drove those two nuts on a daily basis. By almost 1 a.m. they had a start to their gear. She didn't think it would take them that long but they weren't simple dudes by any means. Since they started she was doodling what they said and tried her best to come up with something they all liked. Handing them each their own drawings she sat back and watched as they analyzed what she gave them.

"I like it. Can I add one thing?"

Turning to the voice she said "Sure Dean, go ahead."

"I'm not sure it's possible but can you attach a hood to mine?"

"Umm…sure that shouldn't be too hard."

Grabbing his sketch, she quickly drew another figure but this time it had a hood on it. Handing it back to him she waited for his response.

"Is that what you want?"

"Yeah. It's cool." He had a neutral tone to his voice so she really didn't know if he honestly liked it or not. However, she was just going to take his word for it.

By 1:30 everybody had a concrete idea of what they wanted. Before she went to bed she was going to make hard copies of them both and send them to Stephanie for approval. Getting up she walked the three of them to the door and wished them goodnight. Roman was the last to leave and he had a few choice words for her.

"You really don't like looking at me do you?" he laughed

"You make me nervous that's why." she said with her eyes to the floor.

Lifting her chin up he said, "I'm not going anywhere so you might as well get used to looking at me."

While she was stuck getting lost in his eyes he bent down and said "I want you." Standing up straight he winked at her before going down the hallway to meet up with Seth and Dean.

Harleigha was left there completely speechless. In a matter of hours Roman had her wrapped around his finger. She had a feeling things were about to get interesting and she was fairly certain she wasn't ready for any of this. He could have any woman in the world and the fact that he said he wanted her made her extremely nervous. She was well aware some fans could get crazy about who their favorite wrestler dated and she'd be damned if they came for her over him. She had to stop this before things got out of her control.


	6. Chapter 6: Stay Away

Chapter 6: Stay Away

 ****Thanks for waiting patiently for this chapter. Sorry it took awhile but here you go. Enjoy!****

After Roman left with Dean and Seth, Harleigha just stood with her back to the door trying to catch her breath. The words "I want you," kept ringing in her head. How could he want her when he just met her? There wasn't anything special about her especially when he could have any other woman in the world. This had to be some kind of prank, kind of like in college when the senior frat boys prank the unsuspecting freshman girls into thinking they actually like them. This is what that felt like, she couldn't see any other reason than him trying to make a joke out of her. However, another part of her wanted to believe that he was genuine and that she should follow her gut instinct. He was going to be her undoing in the worst way possible.

"I've got to stop this before I get myself hurt." she mumbled to herself

Just as she was about to get back to some drawing before she went to bed there was a knock on her door. She really hoped it wasn't Roman. Without looking through the peephole she turned around and unlocked the door to the last person she expected to see.

"Can we talk?"

Standing there in shock, Harleigha didn't really know what to say to the person standing in the hallway. However, she had to come up with an answer fast and she really didn't have any other choice but to let the person in.

"I'm not going to repeat myself."

"Fine we can talk." Stepping aside she let the person into her hotel room.

"I want you to stay away from him."

"Excuse me. What are you even talking about Dean?"

"You know what I'm talking don't play dumb with me."

"I'm not playing dumb I'm just confused as to why you even came back just to give me your input on something you know nothing about."

"Harleigha I see the way you look at him already. You're no different than any of the other females that have come, got what they wanted, and left. You're nothing but a two cent ho."

Not knowing what came over her, Harleigha stormed across the room and smacked Dean across his face. Not long after there was a handprint clear as day on his right cheek. Instead of being shocked, he just started laughing in her face.

"What's so funny?" she said in a soft voice

"Never would've pegged you for a fighter."

"I'm not."

"That'll change. Look I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life but I am telling you loud and clear to stay away from Roman." he said with a snarl on his face

"Don't you think that's his decision to make?"

"It is I'm just hoping that you'll make it for him."

"You're betting a lot on me being stupid enough to listen to you."

"No I'm betting that you're smart enough to realize what's best for him if you really care. You'd be crazy to think he actually likes you when he could have any woman in the world. Like I said you're fresh meat, something new but that attraction will wear off soon enough."

"I'm over this conversation. You're not about to bully me into leaving him alone. Roman is a big boy and he can handle himself and who he likes. I'm not sure why you're so intimidated by me…"

"Stop right there sweetheart, I'm not intimidated by you in the slightest." he cackled

"Well you're something or you wouldn't be standing here in the middle of my hotel room telling me what to do. Now get the hell out of my room. Oh and you might want to put some ice on that face of yours it looks a bit swollen."

"Fine but you're playing with fire little girl. He's my best friend and I'll be damned if I watch him get fucked up again by some random chick that doesn't know her place." With that he jumped at her before turning and leaving. He slammed the door so hard on his way out that she jumped and the papers on the table flew all over the floor.

Picking up everything that was now scattered on the floor, she was relieved knowing that tomorrow she'd be flying back to New York for almost a month. Although, it was to finish up work with her former employers, she was glad to be away from Roman and especially Dean. She'd never admit to him that he was right about everything he said, well minus calling her a ho. From the moment that she got back from New York, she was going to keep things professional. Throwing herself into her work and staying far away from Roman was what was best for her. He'd probably notice the change but like Dean said she was "fresh meat," and Roman would move on. Well at least that's what she was hoping.

* * *

"Damn Dean what happened to your face? An ex-girlfriend stop by and say hello?" laughed Roman as he watched Dean walk to the bathroom of their connecting hotel suites.

"Nah I know you'd enjoy seeing me get my ass handed to me by an ex but that's not the case this time." replied Dean

"Care to tell me what really happened then? Whoever it was has one helluva right hand."

"Let's just say it was a well-deserved slap."

"Isn't any time you get slapped a well deserved slap?" asked Seth who was lying on the floor by the far bed that was next to the window.

"Fair point Rollins. Roman can I ask you a question?" Coming out of the bathroom he leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed and fixed his blue eyes on Roman's grey ones.

"You really like her don't you?"

"Who?"

"You know exactly who I'm talking about Roman don't even try that dumb shit with me."

"If you're talking about Harleigha then the answer is yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know why there's just something so exotic and different about her. I know what you're thinking Dean and you're wrong."

"What am I thinking Roman?"

"That I should stay away from her, she's not good for me, and I shouldn't trust her intentions. Blah, blah, blah, I've heard it all before Dean."

"Yes you have heard it all before and you never listened."

"You'd be right on that part but she's different."

"I doubt that but she won't be messing with you anymore that's for sure."

"What did you just say?"

"I said she'll be leaving you alone."

"How exactly do you know that?"

"I may or may not have subtly told her to stay away from you." he said nonchalantly

Getting up from his place on the bed, Roman walked over to where Dean was leaning against the door frame and grabbed him by his shirt collar.

"If you so much as look in her direction…" he said menacingly

"What? What are you gonna do Roman? I'm not in the least bit scared of you, I've had my ass handed to me enough times over the years. You'll be a walk in the park big dog."

Letting Dean go, Roman started to back away. Well that was until he decided that he wasn't going to take the high road this time. Turning around so fast, he punched Dean so hard that he fell through the closed bathroom door and onto the floor. Crouching down beside him Roman looked him in his eyes and said "As I was saying earlier, if you so much as look in her direction I will drop you where you stand. AGAIN."

Passing Seth who was headed to the bathroom to help Dean, Roman took off his shirt and his jeans, threw on some shorts and hopped into the bed. Reaching over to the nightstand, he set an alarm for the next morning, then turned the light out and went to sleep. The last thought he had was that he hoped that Harleigha hadn't let Dean get into her head. If she did, he had a lot of work to do to fix that.


	7. Chapter 7: Breaking Free

Chapter 7: Breaking Free

 ****Thank you to my girl Roseanne ( spearingspree) for helping me out with a few details in this chapter. xx****

It had been close to a month since Harleigha had started her first day with WWE. Today was her last day in New York after finishing up her work with her old company, so she was at home packing everything she'd need for a life that would soon be lived on the road. She had been doing fashion shows, finishing up both major and minor jobs for her clients, and training her apprentice who had been working with her for almost five years. She knew her job would be in good hands long after she left. During any spare time that she had she would find herself working on the WrestleMania gear for many of the superstars and divas. The only one that she hadn't touched was The Shields. She had been debating giving that project to someone else because being around them would just cause problems. Plus every time she would pick up the drawing pad that was dedicated to them, all she could think about was Roman and what Dean told her. It was frustrating to say the least and she was currently at odds with everything. If she went to Stephanie about asking someone else to do the job then it would seem like she couldn't handle the workload which of course wasn't true. So her only solution was to pull up her big girl britches and get over herself. Roman was just another dude and she shouldn't let him be the reason why her work went to shit. This was something she worked her whole life to achieve so why let some random guy take all that away from her. She couldn't have her cake and eat it too.

As she was finishing up the last of her packing, her phone started to ring. By the time it took her to answer it she was surprised the person hadn't hung up. Out of breath she finally answered.

"Hello." she said breathlessly

" _ **Hey Harleigha this is Stephanie."**_

"Hello Stephanie, how are you?"

" _ **I'm fine thank you for asking. The reason why I'm calling is because I know that you're scheduled to come to the Dallas show today but things got a bit tight and I was wondering could you come in early tomorrow instead. You'll have all day before the SmackDown and Main Event tapings to work on some of the designs. Especially the Shield one's, I noticed that you haven't emailed me any ideas for their gear yet. Is everything okay with that?"**_

Harleigha's stomached dropped, why didn't she realize that her not sending in her work to Stephanie wouldn't go unnoticed. She realized now was her chance to come up with a reason as to why she hadn't sent in anything for The Shield. However, she didn't think anything she'd come up with would sound legit anyway.

"Yes ma'am everything is okay. I've just been really tied up lately."

" _ **Are you sure? Is there someone that could help you out with this because I understand that this time of year is a tough one for us? If you find someone that could help you out we could definitely work something out to where they are fully compensated for their work."**_

"Um I'm sure I could get my apprentice from my former job to come down and help me out if that's okay?"

" _ **Sure that would be fine. Why don't you give them a call today and you both can fly out to San Antonio tomorrow."**_

"Thank you so much Stephanie. I really don't want to let you down."

" _ **You're very welcome and I don't think you could ever let me down. The work you've sent in so far is phenomenal."**_

"I truly appreciate that. I'll give them a call tonight and we'll see you all tomorrow."

" _ **Great! When you get here let me know and we'll have someone pick you up and bring you to the arena. This first people you'll be meeting with is The Shield. I really want you to knuckle down on those. They're really important."**_

" _More important than you'll ever know,"_ she mumbled to herself as she got off the phone with Stephanie.

Throwing on some clothes and grabbing her purse Harleigha headed into the city. On her way, she called her apprentice Athena and told her to meet her at the Heartland Brewery. She figured this conversation would be better if it was face to face. By one o' clock she was sitting at a table waiting for Athena. She didn't have to wait long because just after she had ordered a soda there was a tall figure standing by her table. Athena was tall almost 6 feet without heels, had a dark skinned beautiful complexion, hazel eyes, and jet black hair that stopped in the middle of her back. She may look sweet but she's a feisty one when you least expect it and she's a hard-worker so that combination is probably why they got along so well.

"Hey boss." She said as she took a seat across from her. Athena was sporting a patterned white shirt, with a short jean jacket, black leggings, and her black Converse shoes. Her hair was in a side fishtail braid that came across her left shoulder.

"You don't have to call me boss anymore Athena." she laughed

"It's habit, can't help myself. So why this impromptu lunch? Coming to get your job back?"

"Nah that job is in good hands with you. But I need a favor from you if you're willing. So as you know I started working for WWE about a month ago and I'm currently working on designs for WrestleMania gear that is coming up in about 2 months. I got a call from my boss today and she said that she understands this time of year is a bit overwhelming and she said I could pick someone to help me out. Well the person I'm choosing is you. If you don't want to that's fine I'd completely understand but if you do accept we'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

"What about my work here?"

"You'd be pulling double duty but you know I'm not going to let you sink I will help you out. You'll be on the road the whole time but I promise that you won't get behind on your work here."

"How will this get explained to the higher ups?"

"They'll have to deal with me. If you feel uncomfortable about doing this I'll understand."

"No, no I really want to help you out."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes boss! Luckily, I'm not leaving anyone important behind here so I'm all yours for the taking."

"Great! Thank you so much Athena. Oh and seriously stop calling me boss. You can call me Harleigha I won't bite your precious head off."

"Like I said, it's habit. Now let's eat."

Athena called over a waitress and they ordered their food. While they were waiting Harleigha pulled up some pictures on her phone of the work she had so far. She really liked Athena's input on things she was struggling on especially Eva's nightmare of some crazy gear. Harleigha didn't mention The Shield gear, she figured she'd save that little surprise for Athena. She thought those guys were the type that she should definitely meet in person.

After they had finished eating, she paid for both of their meals and went with Athena back to the office. On the short taxi ride over, she called Stephanie to let her know that she got someone on board and that they'd be in before twelve the next day. Stephanie told her that if she had any issues with getting Athena on the road with them to give her a call back. She hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that. When they reached the office, Athena went back to work and Harleigha headed to the head manager's office. Knocking on the door of her former boss she waited for the person to give her permission to come in.

"Come on in."

Opening the door she stepped into the office that she swear she just left only days ago.

"Harleigha what are you doing here?"

"I came to speak to you about Athena and if I could borrow her for a while."

"What do you mean awhile?"

"About two months."

"Excuse me. Why would you need her that long?"

"An offer came up about me enlisting in some help for a big project that I'm working on right now and she was the only person qualified and who I trusted to help me with this task."

"I'm not sure how I feel about her being gone that long. Now that she's taken over your position time off like that is going to hurt the company bad."

"Boss if I could do it then she can too. I told her that I'd be more than willing to help her with any project that comes her way while out on the road with me. I will not allow her to slack on her responsibilities here."

"You promise? This company already took a major hit with you leaving and now that the next best thing will be gone for that long I can't have any missteps or we'll tank in a heartbeat. You know we don't have the easiest of clients to cater to."

"I know boss, I know and I promise that if anything goes wrong you can personally hold me responsible."

"You were always one for protecting others around you. Fine you can have her but I expect nothing but quality work coming from her."

"Thank you boss. I…we won't let you down."

"I'll be holding you too that."

"I know you will." She laughed as she turned and started to head out of the office.

"Oh and Harleigha."

"Yeah boss?"

"Stop calling me boss. You can call me Mom I mean I am your mother after all."

"It's habit, I can't help myself."

"You take care of yourself and your sister okay."

"I always do."

"I love you."

"Love you too." With that she blew her mom a kiss and walked out of the office. On her way out she stopped by Athena's office and told her to be ready by six in the morning.

Heading home she was relieved that she was able to get some help with the gear. She didn't notice how stressed out she was getting until she stopped and thought of how much help Athena was going to be. Her mind was now back in the game and she was more than ready to put all her focus into this. Roman or no Roman nobody was going to get into her way of doing her job the only way she knew how. When she put her mind to things greatness ended up being the result. Everybody thought the work they'd seen before was good, well she was about to kick things into high gear and show them something they'd never seen before. This was Harleigha Monroe at her best and most dangerous so it was in everybody's best interest to stay out of her way or get run over.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Ruthless and Feisty

By 10:00 a.m. Harleigha and Athena were being picked up from San Antonio International Airport and on their way to the hotel and then to the arena. Both were silent and probably for very different reasons. She could guess that Athena was nervous due to her severe hatred of new environments. It was actually a surprise that she hadn't broken down and cried yet. Harleigha on the other hand was trying her best not to think of Roman. She was telling her mind not to fall back into this trap but she knew the moment she saw him her body would react otherwise. She was absolutely powerless against him and she hated that.

Before heading to the arena they stopped by there hotel to check in and drop off their luggage in the room. It took them about fifteen minutes before they were back on the road and headed to the arena. By 11:00 they had arrived and were on their way to meet with Stephanie. Getting out of the car Harleigha turned to Athena and watched as she was in awe of her surroundings. Shocked definitely wasn't the word to describe her reaction that's for sure.

"Are you okay?" she asked

"Not in the slightest. How do you handle this?"

"I'm really not sure. I think I just concentrate on what I have to get done and not worry about what or who is around me."

"Not sure if that was supposed to be a helpful tip or not."

"I'm not sure what it was supposed to be either." she laughed

Together they walked into the backstage area. There were a few wrestlers and stage crew scattered around here and there but she knew the bulk of them probably wouldn't start arriving until around 12 or 1. Finding Stephanie's office, Harleigha knocked on the door and waited for it to be opened. It didn't take long before she was face to face with Stephanie once again.

"Hello Harleigha, you were earlier than I expected. Come on in." Opening the door wide, Stephanie stepped to the side and let both Harleigha and Athena walk in. Once they were in, she shut the door behind them and they sat at a round table in the back of the room.

"So who is this that you brought along?"

"This is my sister Athena."

"Hello, Athena it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Stephanie McMahon." Reaching across the table they both shook hands.

"Hi." Was all that Athena could muster.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm just a bit nervous to say the least."

"Oh don't be. You'll do just fine here and I promise that we don't bite. I'm sure your sister will take good care of you." she laughed

"She always does." Athena replied as she turned and smiled at her sister.

"That's good to hear. Well the reason why I called you both in here is for three reasons. The first thing is obviously that I wanted to meet whomever would be working with Harleigha. The second was to say that the designs that I have received so far are great and I'm giving you the go ahead to start getting those out to the talent. Lastly, The Shield should be here a little before 12 and you have them for about an hour and a half. I want something in to me by the end of the night. If you don't have any questions I'll take you down the hall to the room that you'll be in for the night."

When no questions were asked they headed out of the room, and about three doors down the hall from Stephanie's. It was a bit bigger and there was a much larger table in the middle of the room. It looked like it could sit at least eight people. After saying goodbye to Stephanie and promising to have some concrete work into her by the end of the night, she took a seat at the table and scattered all her work on the table and pulled out her laptop. Sitting down next to her, Athena pulled up Eva's drawing from the scattered stack on the table. From the way that she was looking at it, Harleigha could tell that she had something big in mind. And her hunch was right, grabbing a fresh drawing pad, Athena started to draw a completely different idea than what Harleigha had before. This was clearly the perks of having help coming in handy already. While her sister drew, she googled an idea for part of the Shield gear that she wanted to surprise them with. That night when she drew them their drawings the idea popped into her head after Dean had wanted a hood added to his gear. After looking at his drawing she thought that adding masks to it would kick there gear into next level badass. When she found the idea that she was looking for, she pulled out her own drawing pad and went to work. Both of them were so into their work that the hard knock on the door was the only thing that snapped them out of it.

"Come in." Was all Harleigha said without even looking up from her drawing pad. She felt more than saw the three figures come into the room. She was too concentrated on finishing the last bit of the masks. However, that wasn't in the cards for her as she was soon interrupted.

"Hey Earth to Harleigha. Long time no see and who's this gorgeous woman you brought back with you."

"Hi Seth, that's my sister Athena."

Reaching out his hand for her to shake he said, "Hello Athena I'm Seth Rollins. Question? Do good genes run in your family because I certainly wouldn't mind you being the chocolate to my vanilla?"

In that moment the whole room groaned out loud.

"I see you haven't worked on your greetings since I've been gone Rollins." Harleigha laughed

"That bad huh?"

"Worst one yet." replied Dean and Roman simultaneously

"So I guess a proper greeting is in order?"

"Only if you want to."

"Oh I wasn't going to give you one but I think your sister deserves much better than what Rollins just spewed at her."

"Still an ass I see Ambrose."

"Sorry I didn't go on a sabbatical and radically change while you disappeared. Surprised you didn't put in your two weeks and just stay gone."

Harleigha just sat there in silence in absolute awe that this man still harbored some really unwarranted and unnecessary anger towards her.

"And it's also obvious while you were gone that you didn't grow a backbone and learn how to stand up for yourself. Shame."

"What exactly do you want me to say? I'm pretty sure your sentiments towards me are the same now as they were from the moment that you met me. It's clear nothing that I say will change your mind so why even bother?"

"At least I could find a way to respect you if you tried."

"Yeah right. Whatever."

"Hey are you done yapping like a Chihuahua?" Athena asked in an annoyed voice.

"I see your sister has more of a voice than you do Harleigha."

"Yeah I do. I don't know what is going on here right now but I'm over you acting like some entitled asshole towards my sister."

"Athena it's okay."

"No it's not. You always let people walk over you to stop any conflicts. It's one thing when it's some no good high and mighty jealous bitch but I'll be damned if I stand here and watch some random dude treat you like the scum of the Earth."

Turning to Dean, Athena said "I don't exactly know who you are but I'm about to give you two choices. You can either check yo ass into that chair or you can check yo ass out this room. I ain't got time to sit around and listen to a grown man act like some petty ass teenage female."

"Well since you asked so nicely I'll sit. Any suggestions?"

"I don't give two flying fucks where you sit just sit."

"Damn Ambrose, how does it feel to be castrated?" laughed Seth

"Shut up Rollins."

"Nah man this is priceless. I never would've imagined the day I'd get to see you put in your place. This is hilarious let me have this moment." Seth was sitting in a chair on the right side of Athena holding his side because he was laughing so hard.

Dean was sitting across the table from them shooting daggers into Seth. You could tell he didn't get embarrassed very often. This was a new territory for him and he was pissed. However, whenever he'd look at Athena it wasn't out of anger but moreso respect and admiration. If Harleigha didn't know any better Ambrose had just become a bit smitten with Athena. She was hoping that she was wrong but if on the off chance that she wasn't she was going to make sure that he stayed far away from her sister.

"You've been real quiet over there Reigns. You got any sarcastic insult to injury over there?" asked a seething Dean

"Nah man I'm gonna leave you alone. Just let this be a reminder that you can't go around just talking to people any kind of way."

"Such a big brother answer."

Roman grabbed the chair on the left side of Harleigha, and sat down. After what seemed like forever they all finally found a since of decorum and got to work. Athena was on the far end of the table working with Dean and Seth and Harleigha was working with Roman. Not sure if that happened by accident or on purpose but either way she was struggling to concentrate.

"I missed you." He leaned over and whispered in her ear and his hand was rubbing up and down her jean covered leg. If he didn't stop she was bound to jump his bones right there. She looked up to see Dean staring at them. The look on his face clearly read "back the fuck up."

"Don't worry about him."

"How can I not?" she asked looking him in the eye

"Just trust me."

"I'll try."

"I just wanna take you, lean you up against a wall and kiss you senseless. Would you let me?"

"One day." She whispered before she even knew what she was saying.

"Look can we get back to work before I say something else ridiculous?"

"HA! Sure, and for the record I didn't find your answer ridiculous."

Together they put their ideas together and came up with something concrete for his gear. By 2 o' clock both her and Athena had succeeded in drawing gear for all of them. They were all pretty satisfied with the outcome. After they left, Harleigha was on her way to give the pieces to Stephanie, however her sister had a few questions for her before she could leave.

"Care to tell me what all that was about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh I don't know Roman looking like he wants a piece of you and Dean one step away from verbally kicking your ass."

"Oh it's nothing don't worry about it."

"Lei I know you better than you know yourself sometimes what's going on?"

"Nothing just drop it."

"I'm not stupid I know…"

"I said drop it Athena. I can handle it."

Harleigha stormed out of the room before she could continue to get grilled by her sister. She knew it wasn't going to go unnoticed by her but damn she wasn't expecting to get grilled this early. Athena knew that she probably couldn't handle it on her own so being the protective person that she was, during her time here she was more than likely going to get to the bottom of all this and kick some Ambrose ass.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Chances

After taking the finished Shield sketches to Stephanie for approval, Harleigha went for a walk around the parking lot to clear her head before rejoining her sister. She had noticed that more superstars had come in since she arrived earlier that morning. Saying hello to a few of them here and there, she found a secluded spot in the garage that overlooked the city. Taking her long black tresses out of its ponytail, she let the breeze blow her hair around her face as she collected her thoughts. Standing there, she let her mind play with the notion of being with Roman. He was an all-around good person not only to her but to everybody he came into contact with and she knew that he would treat her like a queen. So why was she scared? It couldn't be over what Dean told her because ultimately what he thought didn't matter. Roman was a grown man who was going to make his own decisions. It was like she was stopping her own happiness for fear of something that wasn't there.

"Mind if I join you?"

Almost jumping out of her skin, Harleigha turned around to the voice.

"Sorry for startling you."

"It's okay. I'm just thinking."

"Hopefully I was in those thoughts."

"When aren't you?" she mumbled

Roman came to stand next to her and together they looked over the city. It was a comfortable silence between the two. She was aware of how close they were to each other and every time there was a strong breeze she'd get a whiff of him and damn he smelled good. She was so intoxicated by him that she felt herself start to sway. In the distance she heard him laugh.

"What's funny?" she asked with her eyes closed

"You."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Opening her eyes she turned to see him looking at her with a smile on his face.

"It's funny how you try so hard to deny this….us. I'm not going anywhere and my feelings towards you haven't changed since you were gone. If anything they got stronger while you were away."

"But you don't know me. How can you like someone that you don't know?"

"You won't let me get to know you for whatever reason. Come here."

Instead of moving, she stood still. Her legs wanted to move towards him but something deep inside her kept her feet planted firmly in her current spot."

"See even when I tell you to come here, it's like you have an internal debate with yourself. Are you scared of me?"

"No."

"Then what is it? Let yourself go and stop thinking for once. Live a little on the wild side. I'm not asking to screw you. Just let me get to know you. Please?"

Walking up to her, he stood a few inches from her. Standing there frozen, she watched as his eyes wandered all over her body. She was absolutely powerless against him and his gaze. Reaching up he moved stray hairs away from her face before pulling her body up against his. He looked into her eyes for an approval before he continued whatever it was he planned on doing. Since her voice clearly didn't work she nodded at him as her form of permission. Bringing his large hands up to her jaw he turned her head so that he had a straight shot to her neck. Peeking at him through hooded lids, she saw him bring his head down. The light touch that landed on her neck sent chills all through her body. He was laying the softest of kisses along her neck, then up to her strong jawline before stopping at her lips.

"Why'd you stop?" Her voice was so husky that she didn't think he heard her.

"Patience, gorgeous." He laughed

Placing both of his hands on her face, he bent down and covered his mouth with hers. Opening her mouth, she let him have complete access. His tongue snaked into her mouth and he was in control. This kiss was slow and steady at first before it started to heat up. She felt her hands sneak under his shirt and felt the strength in his back muscles. While her hands were searching his back, his hands had made their way down from her face to her lower back. She moaned into his mouth and she felt him smile against her lips. She smiled back before they pulled apart. He still had his arms around her waist and it just felt so right standing there with him.

"Turn around."

Grabbing her right hand that had her ponytail holder around her wrist, he slid it off and turned her around. Taking her hair into his hands, he tied her hair into the same bun that he's often caught sporting. When he was done, he kissed her lightly on the back of her neck before wrapping his arms around her. They just stood together in each other's embrace not saying a word but feeling completely content with one another.

"Now will you give me a chance? Don't think about it just answer."

"I don't think it was ever about not giving you a chance but giving myself a chance with you."

"That's not an answer Harleigha."

"Fine I'll give you a chance. Be careful with me I'm fragile." she joked

"No guarantees."

"Huh you're not going to make this easy are you?"

"Not in slightest." She felt his laugh vibrate through to her back.

"Come on let's get back I've got a lot of work to do."

Walking arm and arm together, they headed from their secluded spot into the parking garage and went back into the backstage area. As they reached their room, Harleigha noticed that her sister was talking to none other than Dean. Her mood instantly went from euphoria to downright anger. He clearly knew no boundaries. It was enough that he harassed her for no earthly reason but being near her sister was a NO NO. Even if it was cordially he wasn't allowed to so much as breathe in her direction. He thought she didn't have a backbone to stand up for herself and that may be true but when it came to family, bitch became her middle name real fast.

"Hello you two. Mind if I borrow my sister. Thanks I'll give her back NEVER." Harleigha said in the driest most sarcastic tone ever. Grabbing her sister by the arm, she winked at Roman before going into the room and shutting the door behind them.

"What the hell was that Athena?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Spaz much?"

"Dean really? Did you conveniently just forget that you all but verbally castrated him about an hour or so ago?"

"Yeah so? What's the problem? He's not all that bad when you get to know him. Sorry you have such an issue with him, maybe you shouldn't date his best friend."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Athena Danielle I swear on my life you are not to go anywhere near that man for as long as you're here."

"Ha! You think you're in charge? Last time I checked you're not my boss anymore."

"On this trip I am Athena and you better not forget that."

"Oh so you forgot you asked me here?"

"No I didn't forget and don't you forget I can send your ass right back home."

"You wouldn't though."

"Don't tempt me little girl. Look I'm not trying to argue with you. I'm just looking out for you."

"You always are but sometimes you've got stop worrying and trust me to make my own decisions."

"When it comes to guys you don't have the greatest track record."

"At least I have a track record to begin with."

"Okay that was uncalled for. I don't want to see you get your heartbroken. The last time that happened it took forever to drag you out of that funk. Do you know how many times mom had to stop me from going over to that assholes house and handing him his ass?"

"You really almost did that?"

"Yes on numerous occasions and I can guarantee that if Dean hurts you in any way I will be without a job and probably being arrested for assault cuz I will beat his ass senseless."

"I never knew that. Damn you're a pretty decent big sister."

"I try. Now let's get back to work. I noticed your changes to Eva's gear. Show me what you got."

Pulling up their chairs they bent over their sketch pads and got back to work. They'd be stuck in that room until well after all the tapings were over so they put their ideas together to come up with some pretty bomb ass work. Working with her sister was a godsend. Her ideas were things that she never would've thought of on her own. Although, she figured that Athena was bound to get under her skin again while working here, she was definitely going to be a big help to her and she appreciated it.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Getting To Know You

It had been almost eight hours that Harleigha and Athena had been stuck in that room. The Smackdown tapings were about to start and they were still slaving over drawing after excruciating drawing. Some were easier than others but the time that it took to draw each one out was starting to wear on them. They hadn't eaten at all that day either so Harleigha decided it was time to go get them some food. After they both decided on pizza, she left Athena and went to go get it. On her way out she ran into the man that was really starting to become one helluva annoying rival.

"Where you going?"

"What's it to you Ambrose?"

"What? I can't ask you a simple question?"

"No you can't without having some hidden agenda behind it no matter how simple the question may be."

"Fair enough. I just want to know what your issue is with me talking to your sister."

"Bam exactly my point. Your original question had nothing to do with what you really wanted to know. And if you must know, I don't trust you as far as I can see you. So what I would kindly like you to do is stay the hell away from Athena. Comprende?"

"Athena is a big girl and she can handle herself and who she likes."

"Hmm…this conversation sounds really familiar. I vaguely remember me telling you that about Roman."

"And I've noticed you didn't listen to my warning."

"What. Just like I'm sure you're not about to listen to mine. Look, it's clear that we're not about to listen to each other. What I am going to tell you though, is that I swear on my life and my job that if you break her heart I will thoroughly kick your ass. She's impressionable and gets smitten very easily. That's what this is right now and I'm telling you that so you don't walk all over her and take advantage. Dean don't play with me I swear. Say what you want about me, Roman and whatever we have going on but messing with my sister to get at me is off limits. You're either for real or you're not."

"You done yet, sweetheart?"

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm not." He said with a smirk on his face. With those words he turned around and left her to wonder what he meant by that. It was blatantly obvious he was up to something and she had no control over what happened next. The only hope that she had was talking to her sister again but knowing her in the way that she did it wasn't likely to work. Her sister was so hot and cold. Much like with Dean, she could put a person in their place one minute and be chatting with them the next. She had a thing for giving people second, third, and fourth chances. Harleigha was good a pointing out the people who had ulterior motives with Athena but she never listened until after she got hurt. However, with Dean she couldn't understand nor peg what he was up to and it was bothering her to no end.

* * *

Deciding to stop dwelling on what Dean was up too, she went and got the pizza for her and Athena. It didn't long since it was around the corner, so about fifteen minutes later she was pulling back into the arena garage and heading to the room. When she got there, she ran into a sight that she wasn't expecting to see.

Clearing her throat she said, "I can come back later."

Putting the two large pizza boxes on the table, she watched as Dean and Athena tried to collect themselves. When she walked in they were both huddled over a drawing pad, extremely close to each other and Dean was rubbing circles with his thumb over her sister's thigh.

"Persistent aren't you Dean?" she snarled at him

"Lei, it's not that…."

"Whatever you were about to say I don't want to hear it now and not ever. Understood?"

"God you can be such a bitch sometimes you know that?"

"Could've fooled me." Dean said

Ignoring him she turned to Athena and said, "It wouldn't be the first or the last time someone has called me a bitch. Now care to tell me what he's doing here?"

"No I don't care to tell you why he's here. He's a grown man he can go anywhere he wants and talk to anyone he wants to. It just so happened he came to see me? Problem?"

"I don't understand you. You literally just handed him his ass on a silver platter this morning. Now all of a sudden he's Saint Dean Ambrose. What the hell fam?"

"Unlike you I don't hold unnecessary grudges. Like I said whatever issue you two have is that of your own. Not much I can do about that. You'll have to work that out on your own terms."

"So you're going to let him disrespect your sister because he didn't personally say anything against you. Some sister you are. And I'm the bitch for trying to protect you. Okay?" she said sarcastically

"Ladies, ladies at the risk of y'all losing your relationship…"

"Not that you'd care." Harleigha said

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, at the risk of losing your relationship I'll leave." Dean said

"No, it's clear I'm the odd one out so I'll leave. You two have a grand old time together."

Grabbing a box of pizza and her drawing equipment she left her sister and Dean to their own devices. Going on a hunt for a secluded spot inside the backstage area, she couldn't find one that was suitable for her so she went to the small spot she found in the garage earlier. When she got there she noticed a spacious bench that she hadn't noticed earlier. Sitting down, she put her headphones on and listened to some music while she drew. It wasn't work related drawing but she took it back to her roots and drew what was right in front of her. Looking out at the scenery in front of her she began to draw the sunset hovering over San Antonio's city. She hadn't realized how much time had passed until a tall body blocked her view and she couldn't see anymore.

"SHIT!" Ripping out her headphones she clutched at her chest trying to stop her heart from falling out.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" asked Roman as he sat down beside her and lifted her long, toned legs onto his lap.

"My sister and your best friend didn't explain it?"

"No. They just said you stormed off mad and didn't know where you went."

"Oh figures. How'd you find me and what time is it?"

"It's about 8:30 and I just took a guess."

"Damn. I didn't realize how late it was. I really shouldn't have come up here alone."

"No you really shouldn't have but I'm here now so you don't have to go anywhere."

"What are you gonna be my big, bad, intimidating bodyguard." She laughed

"If I have to be then yes."

"I can protect myself ya know?"

"I'm sure you can but I'm not going anywhere regardless."

All she did was roll her eyes at him.

"So let's play a game of 20 questions." said Roman

"Huh why?" she pouted

"Because I want to know what I'm getting myself into with Harleigha Monroe."

"Me telling you that it'll be hell isn't enough?"

"Nope certainly not good enough. So first question, what's your favorite color?"

"Well it was red."

"Was?"

"Yeah was."

"Are you going to make me ask you what that favorite color would be now?"

"Yes. And just so you know that counted as a question. So right now you're at 3."

"How am I at 3?"

"You might want to be careful with these simple questions or you'll be at 20 before ya know it." she laughed

While he was thinking of the next question, she pulled out a new sheet of drawing paper and started working on him. She tried not to stare but it was damn hard not to. He really was a work of art and God certainly took his time when creating him.

"So aside from Athena any other about siblings? A brother I have to worry about?"

"Hmm two questions in one. Um an older brother yes. Worry about him no. I also have a younger sister." She answered without looking up from her drawing.

"Why shouldn't I worry about your brother?"

"Because he's nonexistent in my life…our lives. We were once really close we're only a year apart but when my senior year of high school rolled around he distanced himself from all of us. Last I heard he was training for the upcoming Olympics. He's neither here nor there to be honest with you."

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? It's not your fault. He has his reasons for doing what he did and if he ever decides to explain them then fine. If he never does then that's fine too. I don't care either way. Like I said he's non-existent."

"Still I'm sorry. A sister should have a brother that protects them not leaves them."

After that the questions became less serious and they were able to relax a bit more. He asked about both her sisters and he finally got the answer to her favorite color. The time she spent with him she learned that he really wanted to find substance in their "relationship," instead of being like the seemingly average dude who was out for a good fuck. She was starting to feel comfortable around him which was good. He still made her a bit nervous for various reasons but hopefully overtime that would change. They had a long way to go but after tonight they certainly had a good start ahead of them.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Going Nowhere

"So grey is your favorite color huh? Is that why you could never look at me?"

"You'd like for that to be the answer wouldn't you?" she laughed

"It would boost my ego, so yes."

"Like you really need it."

Looking at Roman with a smile on her face she never understood why she didn't want to give him a chance in the first place. He brought joy to her life that she hadn't felt in such a long time. Between past relationships and constantly working she rarely got the chance to experience that. He was able to bring that back into her life and he didn't even realize it. Whether they made whatever they had official or not she definitely knew this man was going to bring some light into her life that she was sorely missing.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked

"You."

"Hopefully good thoughts."

"They always are. We should get back even though I'm sure my sister is still royally mad at me." she said with a sigh

"Why would she be?"

"Because I'm being an overbearing and protective sister."

"Let me take a guess. Dean huh?"

"Mhm. BINGO!"

"He's really not a terrible person. Especially with people he cares about. I'm sure he'll treat your sister with the respect and love that she deserves. He's just not tactful at times. Give him a chance Harleigha."

"That's the understatement of the year. I'd love to give him a chance if he didn't treat me like such shit every time I'm around."

"I wish I could explain to you why he's like that."

"Oh I can tell you. It's because of you. For some reason only he knows, he thinks that I'm just like any other female that has ever come into your life. I'm going to assume you haven't had the best time with relationships as of late and I'm also going to assume he thinks I'm going to run you dry. I tried to explain that I'm not that kind of person, my mother raised me better than that. He just doesn't seem to get it. Oh well it's not my problem it's his. He'll get over himself eventually and if not I can't control that. One thing I can say about him is that you have a good friend in him and I can respect that he wants to protect you. It's honorable to say the least."

"You seriously are a good woman. Come here." Standing up, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into a hug. Wrapping her long arms around his waist they silently stayed that way. After a while he pulled back and lifted up her chin with his index finger. Looking into her burning brown eyes he bent down and kissed her. She grabbed him tighter around the waist as he made the kiss deeper.

"Mmm…I'll never get tired of doing that." He said against her mouth

"I might if I keep getting dizzy and losing my train of thought every time. Are you trying to make me faint?" she laughed

"Well let me try that again. I don't think I got you dizzy enough because you're still standing."

"Don't you dare!"

"HEY, lovebirds you two plan on staying here all night?"

Turning around, they saw Seth leaning against a pillar looking at them with a smile on his face.

"How long you been there, Rollins?" asked Roman

"Not long. No need to be embarrassed there Harleigha. I think y'all are cute so don't mind me. I just wanted to make sure y'all didn't go off and get hitched. I want to be there. You know I'll be the best man of course."

Harleigha hadn't realized that she had scooted behind Roman, and hid her face in her hands in utter and complete embarrassment.

"Seth seriously shut up before I go smack you upside your head." laughed Roman

"No need big brother I'm leaving. Hurry up though, Dean wanted to hit a karaoke bar before we jump on the road tonight."

"Him and his karaoke."

"You know how he gets. I tried to say we could go to one over the weekend but he didn't listen. As usual. Not that he listens to me in the first place. We'll meet you down by the car. And hey Harleigha, your sister grabbed all your stuff and you two are welcome to join us tonight even though I think your sister made that decision for the both of you already."

"Of course she did. Thanks for the heads up Seth."

"No problem." Turning around he left them to head back to the car.

Grabbing her drawing kit and the empty pizza box which she tossed in a trash can, her and Roman headed down to the bottom of the garage. When they got there Seth, Dean, and Athena were standing by two cars talking. Dean had his arm around Athena's waist and she had her head on his shoulder. It also looked like she was wearing his signature baseball cap. Although, she didn't want to admit it to herself they looked cute together standing there and if he made her happy and was willing to protect Athena like Roman said he would then she was going to leave that up to them. So she did the unthinkable. Walking over to them, she asked them if she could speak to them together. Roman and Seth looked at her with confused looks on their faces but they let her go anyway.

"What's up Lei? I know that look so I'm assuming that begrudgingly you came to terms with something."

"First of all Athena, I will always be your overprotective and overbearing sister so it's something that you'll have to deal with. I might express to you things that you won't agree with but that's what older sisters are for and only death will take me away from that job. So with that being said, I know you two just met but it's clear that there's something going on here that is beyond my control. It's clear you like him and I'm going out on a limb here and saying that he likes you back. I may not like or trust this but you're my sister and all I want for you is pure happiness you deserve that and if this jackass right here is going to be the one to give that to you then I'll back off."

"I can respect your stance on this Harleigha and although I have the feelings I have towards you I will treat your sister with nothing but respect and that you can take to the bank. I don't play around when it comes to relationships. I may have been through quite a few in my time but that's because I never found that one person who completely got me and was willing to give me a chance, flaws and all. I think your sister might just be that person. I know you think I'm going to just screw her and leave but that's not the case. Not this time. Much like how Roman knew you were for him at first sight I knew something was there between your sister and I. Nobody has been able to put me in my place like that. You have my word, my bond that I will treat her the best way I know how and to the best of my abilities."

He put his hand out for her to shake and she placed hers in his. With a strong grip she pulled him forward and whispered in his ear, "one tear Dean one tear falls from her hazel eyes and I promise you that you will regret it."

"Deal." He said back as he gripped her hand tighter.

With that he let go of her hand and left Harleigha and Athena to talk alone. She saw him hop into the backseat of the SUV that Roman and Seth were leaning against.

"Thanks Lei."

"Mhm."

"You still don't like this do you?"

"Not at all but I can tell you one thing. He's different and I've heard many of your ex's spill that mess and broke your heart. I didn't get that vibe from him at all. He was genuine I could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice."

"Then is your issue the one he has with you?"

"More than likely, yes. I just don't get it. He's so foul to me."

"I'm sure you've been foul right back. Not much gets past you."

"Surprisingly not at all."

"Well then my guess is that you two have more in common than you think. You can't fault him for wanting to protect someone he cares about even though he's wrong about you. Just like he can't fault you for wanting to protect me."

"I guess. Look I don't feel like going out tonight. You can go though and I'll head back to the hotel we'll just leave early tomorrow."

"Are you sure? I think Roman will be disappointed." Athena said with a smirk on her face.

"Don't look at me like that."

"What? I see the way y'all look at each other. I haven't seen that look on your face ever. You genuinely seem happy around him and from what I hear from Dean, Roman seems to be absolutely down for you."

"Whatever. Go have some fun and be careful. Call me if you need anything."

"I will. Love ya Lei."

"Love you too."

Giving her sister a hug, Athena went over to The Shield's car and let them know that she wasn't coming. Hopping into the SUV of her own, she started the car and pulled up next to Roman.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" asked Roman after she rolled down her window.

"Yeah I'm sure. Make sure she doesn't get to reckless."

"I'll take care of her."

"Thanks."

"Anytime." Roman leaned through the open window and gave her a kiss before she pulled off and headed back to the hotel.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Good Life

 ***Thank you to Three Days Grace for the title of this chapter. Listening to good music always helps me write lol. Enjoy everybody!***

It was close to 2 in the morning when there was a stiff knock on Harleigha's hotel room door. She had been dozing off since she had arrived a little after 11 with every intention of staying up to wait for her sister. That however, didn't happen because as soon as her head hit the pillow she was down for the count. She hadn't realized how tired she was until she sat on the bed and fell asleep with her clothes on.

Slowly getting up from the bed and wiping her eyes, she walked to her hotel door to open it to whoever was standing on the other side. Much to her chagrin it was Roman struggling to keep a drunk Athena upright.

"Oh my goodness what happened?" She asked as she went out into the hall to help Roman with her sister.

Once they placed her on the other bed and pulled the covers over her, Harleigha turned to Roman and waited for him to answer her question. Unfortunately, he didn't so that gave her a hunch that she wasn't going to like the answer to her question anyway.

"I'm going to ask you again Roman, what happened?"

He didn't even look at her, he just continued to stare at his feet.

"ROMAN! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T ANSWER ME THE THOUGHT THAT I HAVE IN MY HEAD WILL MAKE ME ACT REAL RECKLESS!" she yelled

"One of Dean's ex's made an unexpected appearance."

"Okay. And?!"

"Let's just say she wasn't a fan of Athena."

"Roman what are you talking about?"

"It's all a pretty big blur but the gist of the story is, Dean's ex hit on him in front of Athena, Athena confronted her, Dean didn't want any part of it, and ultimately Athena and his ex got into a heated argument which resulted in a few slaps and some hair pulling. Then Athena just got hammered. I'm sorry, I tried to stop her but she didn't listen."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"I wanted too but she wouldn't let me."

"At that point I don't care what she wanted. You should've still called."

"I know and I apologize for that."

"It's okay I'm not upset with you. It's not the first time she's gotten wasted over a dude and it's clearly not the last."

Harleigha headed into the small kitchen that was located in her hotel room and grabbed a glass of water for her sister.

"I know you're probably upset with Dean for not defending your sister but if you want to hand him his ass now is not time. He's not much better off at the moment. Whenever, he feels terrible about a situation he either shuts down or gets hammered. Today he decided to get hammered."

"You know what? Fuck Dean. I shouldn't have trusted him with my sister anyway."

"It's not about that Harleigha."

"Excuse me. It's not about what? You meaning to tell me if you were in the same situation that you'd let your ex disrespect me?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Well try Roman."

"I can't. When it comes to Dean I really can't explain anything he does as hard as I try."

"Lei."

From behind her, Harleigha saw her sister struggling to get out of bed. Going over to her she placed the glass of water on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong Athena?"

"I don't feel too good. Oh God I think I'm going to be sick."

All but pushing Harleigha off the bed, Athena ran to the bathroom with her hand over her mouth.

Walking up to Roman, she just stood in his arms as she heard her sister hacking up a few lungs in the bathroom. She didn't know how to fix this one. Her sister really did like Dean and she could tell that he liked her back so this pained her that whatever they had was starting out this way. They literally just met and this was already happening. That didn't spell out anything good for their future if they continued. She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that there would be more nights like this to come.

Standing there she felt Roman's phone vibrate in his pocket. Reaching down he grabbed it while still holding on to her. It felt nice that even to grab his phone he wasn't about to let her go.

"Hello." he answered.

She couldn't hear the person on the other end of the line but she could tell something was going very wrong just by the change in his posture. He tensed up and his arms got tighter around her back. Stepping back she looked up at his face and she could tell he was struggling to hold something back.

"Shit I'll be right down Seth."

"What's wrong?" she asked as Roman hung up his phone

"Apparently Dean is going bat-shit crazy right now. Clearly your sister has had some effect on him because he's downstairs ranting. He's never gotten this way over a woman ever. We'll be playing tonight by ear apparently."

"Oh boy. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? This isn't your fault. This isn't anybody's fault really it's just emotions are running high tonight."

"We're going to have to agree to disagree on that last part." she laughed

"So difficult."

"I try my best. I'm sure it's my middle name and if it's not I'm going to have to go get that changed ASAP."

"I thought your middle name was Monroe?"

"It is. Guess I'm going to have to hit up whatever place people go to get their names changed because Monroe sounds nothing like Difficult."

"I have no comment for all that sarcasm."

"You'll just have to get use to that. There's a lot more where that came from."

"I look forward to it."

"That's what everybody says until they deal with it 24/7."

"Come here."

"You just enjoy saying that to me don't you?"

"Sure do." Roman said as he pulled her into a tight embrace. He kissed her on top of her head and then her forehead before he stepped back, looked into her eyes and kissed her full on her lips. Damn his lips felt so good against hers. She could melt into his arms every time he did that. He really was her kryptonite.

"Um…I can come back later sis."

"Shit. I'm sorry Athena. Are you doing okay?"

"I'm just peachy." Athena replied sarcastically

Walking over to the bed, she sat down and tossed off her shoes and socks before crawling back into the bed. She chugged the glass of water before throwing the covers over her head.

"Do you want me to get some aspirin?"

"No don't worry about it I'll go. Take care of Dean it sounded like he needed it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

She walked him to the door and watched him get on the elevator before shutting the door.

"Is he gone?"

Turning around she saw her sister's eyes peek at her from under the covers.

"Yeah why?"

"Because I feel so embarrassed."

"What happened sis?"

"I don't really know to be honest with you. I just felt this overwhelming sense of disrespect from mostly Dean so I took it out on his ex tramp. I wasn't really trippin off her, I could tell she was trying so hard to get his attention by antagonizing me and looking slutty at the same time. It's just his reaction not only to her advances but to me was just too much for me to handle."

"What was his reaction to you?"

"He'd just look at me like he was enjoying her advances but also like he was daring me to get angry. I fell right into what he wanted me to do. Why didn't I just listen to you and stay away from him?"

"You really want me to answer that question?"

"No not really because I think I already know the answer."

"Ha I'm sure you do. Look don't listen to me when it comes to YOUR heart. I was only thinking of myself and my personal feeling towards him when I told you to leave him alone. If you have this sense that being with him is right then go for it. From what I hear you've effected his dark heart because he's going crazy over you right now. Apparently, he hasn't done that before over any woman."

"I guess I should be flattered then." Athena said dryly

"How about you get some sleep and then you can talk to him about it in the morning."

"When did you become so level-headed?"

"Oh about five minutes ago."

"Such a big sister."

"Always and forever."

Walking over to the bedside table she grabbed Athena's empty cup and refilled it for her. When she was done she placed it back on the table and turned the light off. Feeling her way over to the other bed she crawled in and got comfortable. She could hear her sister lightly snoring and she knew that she was at peace at least for now. Looking out the window she let her thoughts of Roman, Dean, and her sister lull her to sleep. She knew it was going to be a bumpy ride with all of them but she had a feeling that the light at the end of this dark tunnel was going to be one they all deserved. After what she went through with a certain ex that she did her best to hide from everyone, she couldn't wait for this dark tunnel to end. She knew Roman was going to be the one to pull her through and somewhere along the way she felt Dean would play a big part in pulling her out as well. All she ever wanted for the people in her life was to experience a little of the good life.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Love and War

 ****The credit for the title of this chapter goes to Tamar Braxton and her song "Love and War." I am proud of this chapter and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you all for hanging with me and this story. I love and appreciate you all. xo****

Waking up to some rustling and what sounded like the sounds of sniffling, Harleigha turned from her position facing the window and saw that her sister was up moving around the room. From what she was noticing from behind her sleepy eyes was that her sister was packing up her things. Grabbing her phone from the bedside table she saw that it was barely even 6:00 a.m.

"Athena what are you doing?" Harleigha asked in a deep voice

"I'm leaving. I'm going back to New York. I'll help you finish your work from there, I just can't stay here around HIM." Athena softly replied

"What are you talking about Athena? Have you talked to him?"

"No I haven't and I didn't plan on it. I was going to leave without him knowing it's not like I'd be worth missing to him anyway."

"Wait. Hold on before you do anything crazy. Communication is key with these kinds of things. Walking away from something that you care about won't fix anything."

"What if he doesn't want to listen? Hell what is there really to talk about?"

Athena stopped her furious packing and went and sat on the edge of Harleigha's bed and put her head in her hands.

"How would you know what there's to talk about if you don't at least try?"

"Lei I just can't do this. I need you to be the big sister and be all "grrr I'll kick your ass you son of a bitch."

"Ha! As much as I'd love to this is your fight and your relationship. What I say will probably make matters worse rather than better."

"Lei please." Athena turned around from her position from the foot of the bed and looked her sister deep in her eyes. She was hoping that her face could convey her message better than her words could at that moment.

"Fine but you're not allowed to get mad later."

"I won't I promise."

"Mhm….sure."

Getting off the bed, Harleigha grabbed some clean clothes and headed into the bathroom. She wanted to get this conversation over with as soon as possible. This wasn't her ideal morning conversation but she'd pretty much do anything for Athena. It took her about 20 minutes to get ready and by the time she got out of the bathroom, Athena was curled up on her bed staring out the window. It looked like she was crying but was trying to hide her tears in the pillow.

"Hey sis can you tell me what room Dean is in?"

"I don't know he didn't tell me." she mumbled into the pillow

"Why don't you call him and ask?"

"Why don't you just ask Roman, Lei?"

"Look Athena you want me to help you then you're going to have to pull yourself together for five seconds and find out where he is."

"Fine."

Harleigha started pacing while Athena found out where Dean was. In her head she was trying to figure out what she was going to say to him. However, every scenario ended terribly and she knew deep down her goal wasn't to make an even bigger rift between the two. Her sister would never forgive her for that.

"Harleigha. HARLEIGHA! LEI!"

"Huh what?" She jumped as she turned to her sister who was kneeling on the bed trying to get her attention.

"I've been trying to tell you that he's on the 3rd floor in room 303."

"Okay thank you."

"Um…Lei…"

"Yes Athena?"

"What are you going to say to him?"

"I don't know yet?"

On that note Harleigha left her sister in their room wondering what she was going to go and tell Dean.

Walking down the hall to the elevator she told herself to calm down so that she wouldn't go guns a blazing at Dean when she got downstairs. Plus she figured that the man was bound to have one helluva hangover and she knew yelling at him wouldn't help nor would it accomplish anything. The elevator ride down was short but not so sweet. When she arrived at room 303 she took a deep breath before knocking softly on the door. From outside she heard some rustling and a few groans coming from the room. It sounded like more than one person was in the room. Finally, the door opened.

"Hey Harleigha how are you?"

"I'm great Roman. How are you?"

"A bit on the tired side didn't get much sleep last night. May I ask why you're here? We aren't supposed to have breakfast or something are we?"

"No calm down. I came here to see Dean."

"Ummm…"

"It's alright Roman let her in." She heard Dean say from deep within the room.

Roman stepped aside to let her in. Slowly walking into the room she saw that Seth was waking up from his position on the couch and Dean was sitting shirtless on one of the beds. To be truthful he looked like absolute shit.

"Oh wait I thought you were Athena, my hearing must've translated something wrong in that moment that I told you that you could come in. So in light of that mistake you can turn around and leave."

"No." she said softly

"Excuse me what? I didn't quite hear what you said."

"NO."

"NO. What? You're not leaving?"

"No I'm not leaving until I say what I came here to say."

"Then say your peace and get the hell out because I really don't feel like hearing your constant and incessant bitching."

"And I'm tired of hearing your "I hate Harleigha because she's with Roman," monologue every time you see me. Sadly we don't always get what we want."

"Aw wow you finally have a decent enough come back for me. Took you long enough. What did you do stay up all night thinking of that one?"

"Dean."

"No it's okay Roman. Look Dean I don't give one flying fuck about what happened last night and frankly from what I've heard it sounded stupid. However, one thing that will happen once I leave this room is you will FIGURE IT OUT. This getting head over foot drunk and spazzing out over some reckless ass ex of yours is ridiculous. I trusted you to take care of her and what do you do you let your ex act a plum fool."

"You trusted me. Well that was your first mistake. Why weren't you there to protect her like the overbearing protective sister that you are."

"I wasn't there because I was back here finishing up MY work. Plus whenever my sister goes out I trust the people that she goes out with to take care of her. I trust that the care is also mutual. I don't care if she with y'all or Pippy Mothafuckin Longstocking I expect whoever she's with to bring her back in one piece. That however didn't happen last night because you were doing everything but playing tonsil hockey with your ex in a stupid attempt to make Athena jealous. What are you twelve Dean? That game is for children. Grow the fuck up."

"It's not my fault your sister doesn't know how to hold her liquor."

"And it's not her fault that you're a vagina hungry douchebag who can't hold his liquor or his tongue for that matter."

"Oh I'm sorry because I'm sure you and Roman are all perfect. Right?"

"This isn't about Roman and I. This is about you and my sister figuring something the fuck out and moving on. It's clear you two care about each other and if you expect for this to work out you have to learn to talk to one another damn it."

"I just don't…"

"You don't what? Spit it out Ambrose. Use your big boy words. Any other time you have no problems expressing how you feel. Why now?"

"I just….I…..ugh this is hard to say. What is love?"

"What?" Harleigha asked after what felt like the room had frozen in time.

"What is love?" Dean asked again

"It's different for everybody. Look you're not Angel or Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Everybody stopped and looked at her with an odd look on their face. Even Seth who lifted his head off the pillow from his spot on the couch.

"Ignore that reference. My point was Dean, you're not soulless. It's okay to feel something for someone."

"I get that but I've never felt something this strong. It feels like my heart is trying to jump out of my chest whenever I'm around Athena. It gets even worse when I'm away from her. So last night was me trying to get her to hate me so much that I wouldn't have to experience this feeling anymore. I look at you and Roman in awe. I don't understand how you two function. The way he talks about you it's like how I feel with your sister but I can't express that too her."

"Why can't you?"

"I just can't."

"So are you telling me the big bad Dean Ambrose can't tell a woman how he feels?"

"No that's not what I'm saying."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't want to hurt her. In the end I always hurt someone. She's too amazing to hurt the way I make women hurt. I couldn't live with myself if I hurt her like that."

"Dean, she's hurting now NOT being with you. Fix it, talk to her, at least try because she plans on leaving if you can't figure something out. Neither one of us can afford to have her leave."

"She didn't tell me she was leaving."

"That was the point. She didn't think that you'd care enough to miss her anyway."

"Well she'd be wrong."

"Then go tell her that."

Getting up from his spot on the bed he grabbed a shirt and threw it on before he headed for the door.

"Where…"

"Room 509." Harleigha answered his question before he could even get it out.

She walked up to where Roman was standing and watched as Dean went to go mend fences with her sister. She really hoped that Athena stopped to listen because this blossoming relationship although already volatile was worth the fight.

"How about that breakfast?" Roman said into her ear as she felt his arms slide around her waist.

"That's sounds good right about now." she replied back

He started kissing at her neck and a small moan came from deep in her throat.

"Hey um guys I'm still here."

"Oh shit my bad Seth." laughed Harleigha

Roman stepped back and grabbed his wallet and phone before they headed out of the room to go get some food at a nearby 24 hour diner. They promised to get Seth something on their way back so they wouldn't have to stop on their drive to the next city.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Pain is a Consequence of Love

 ****A side note that I feel inclined to make. I appreciate everybody reading this story and leaving comments and reviews. I also appreciate the constructive criticisms. I take note of those for future chapters. However, nitpicking at the smallest details in a story and feeling the need to express them was really disheartening. I promise something as minor as how I used "Triple H's" name or how she got the job without a proper interview really isn't going to affect the outcome of this story or the major plot. I promise. This story isn't meant to be realistic it's a STORY for crying out loud. Also, after I explained where her name came from I can still state it has nothing to do with the coincidence that is a likeness to a certain someone's ex especially when this story doesn't involve him in the first place. I have no plans of using a person's personal name or the names of someone they are involved with either currently or in the past. That's not who I am. If anyone has an issue with inconsistencies or certain names then you can stop reading at any time. I hope this statement doesn't deter anybody from continuing to read my story and I'm not looking to start any drama. This is my story and I work hard on it. If everybody stops reading it because of this statement then that's fine and I can respect your decision. If you do want to continue then I appreciate it and I hope you enjoy. I promise a lot more of Harleigha and Roman will be coming to you sooner rather than later xo.****

After having a peaceful breakfast with Roman where they just enjoyed being in the company of one another, they headed back to the hotel with Seth's food in hand. It was going to be a hard goodbye that day because Harleigha wouldn't be seeing much of him since The Shield would be doing a few shows in different cities from her. Plus somewhere around the time before WrestleMania she'd be going back home as well. When they arrived back at his hotel room, they embraced in a long kiss that neither one of them seemed to want to stop.

"I'm going to miss you." She whispered into his chest.

"I'll miss you too, Lei."

"Hm…using my sister's nickname I'm not use to that passing from the lips of anybody but her."

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all. I like when you say my name. Any version of it gives me chills."

"What about "baby girl?" He bent down and growled the words into her ear.

"That…..that….that um works too." she replied breathlessly

"Harleigha Monroe, my baby girl."

Grabbing her chin he kissed her like it was the last time he'd see her. She felt her knees get weak and her thoughts go all wonky. He really was magical. How could one man cause someone to feel like a messy puddle of jumbled feelings? It was ridiculous.

"Are y'all two done yet? I'm sure you're giving the hallway a great show right now."

"Geez, Seth you really know how to ruin the moment." laughed Harleigha

"Sorry about that. You get my breakfast?"

"Mhm I'm sure you're starving right now."

"Waiting for you two I could've gotten my own breakfast. I was starting to die of hunger waiting for you two."

"So dramatic." Laughing, she handed him his bag of breakfast which he started eating as soon as it was out of her hand. She looked at him in awe as he devoured the 3 breakfast sandwiches they got him along with some hash browns. It was mildly disgusting if she was being honest with herself.

"Aye, Rollins don't choke."

"I'll try not to sweetheart." He said with a mouthful of food.

All she could do was shake her head and try not die from laughter. He was acting like he hadn't eaten in days by the way he was going after his food. He didn't even bother to go sit at the small table in the hotel room.

"Rollins, sorry to interrupt your vigorous eating but have you seen Dean?"

"I was just about to go find him when I ran into you two. We've got to get ready to go soon anyway and he's got shit thrown everywhere in this room. He really did a number on himself and this room last night."

"Sure did." replied Roman

"Hey, I'll let you two get ready to go. If I run into Dean I'll let him know y'all are looking for him."

"Are you sure?" asked Roman

"Yeah this goodbye is hard enough as it is. Where y'all going?"

"I think we'll be in the DMV area for the next week or so."

"Okay. Text me when you get there."

"You know I will. Where are you going?"

"I'll be down in Florida trying to figure out what in the actual fuck Eva wants for her gear."

"Sounds like fun."

"Loads of it." she replied sarcastically

Giving Roman one last hug and kiss, she headed towards the elevator and went back up to her room. She hadn't heard from her sister yet so she suspected that everything was going well. At least she hoped it was. Her mother always taught her, "no news is good news," so she kept that in mind as she got off the elevator and walked to her hotel room. As she got closer she saw a figure leaning against the wall. It took a minute to realize who it was. It's not every day a man in a leather jacket, jeans, and a baseball cap stands outside her door. Grabbing her key card from her pocket, she went to slip it into the key slot.

"They're looking for you." she said to Dean

"She left."

Her hand froze in the process of pulling the key card out of its slot. Turning to look at him she had a feeling she had a look of complete dismay on her face. She certainly felt like she got kicked in her stomach. Athena told her that she had plans on leaving so she should've been prepared for this. However, hearing it come from Dean's mouth and by the looks of him she knew it was true. She just had to hear him say it again.

"What?" she asked in a trembling voice

"You heard me and I refuse to say it again."

"I know I just….What happened?"

"A long story made short, she said that she'd be willing to try but she needs some space right now. According to her, she really felt slighted by me as well as my ex last night."

"Well she must really like you then."

"How do you figure? I'm certainly not feeling as hopeful as you are right now."

"I'm not hopeful, just right."

"Once again I ask, how do you figure?"

"Because she never gives people space. All it takes is one apology and she's back in the saddle. Since she didn't exactly do that with you that means she's coming to terms with how she feels about you and seeing if whatever you told her was genuine. You were genuine, right?"

"As genuine as anyone could ever ask me to be."

"So I'll take that as you tried."

"Yeah pretty much."

"Did she say how long she'd be gone?"

"Yeah the week that you go back she said she'd leave with you for WrestleMania."

"Damn that's like almost two months away Dean."

"I know, I know."

"Do you have a show up that way between then?"

"I'm not really sure I think so."

"Well then if you do hit her up and talk to her. She's stubborn when she cares but hang in there."

"What if she moves on by then?"

"Don't count on it. Look I'll talk to her after she calms down and see how she's doing. Okay?"

"Thank you. I owe you."

Harleigha snapped her head in his direction with the look of complete shock on her face. She never thought that she'd hear those words come from the mouth of the man that made a game out of making her life a living hell. She knew it wasn't much and she'd take this one in stride because she figured it would never EVER happen again.

"Hmm…you owe me one. I like the sound of that."

"Yeah yeah, don't let it get to your head it's already big enough."

"You just couldn't leave it at that could you? Just had to go and say something salty."

"It's my job, you should know this by now."

With that he left her standing outside of her hotel room shaking her head. That man was very enigmatic and it made her head explode at times. However, she could find a way to deal with him if it made her sister happy in the long run. She really hoped those two would figure something out before she got a chance to talk to Athena. This was her fight after all but knowing her sister she would drag this out until the end of time. When Athena didn't understand something or a situation was pulling at every fiber of her being she'd shut down and shut people out. That's how she knew that it was true what she said to Dean that Athena really did care about him. He just had to give her some time and hopefully he would listen to her just this once.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Body on Me

 ****Credit to Rita Ora for the title of this chapter.****

 _2 months later…_

It had been two long months since Harleigha had last seen Roman. She had been in Florida for one straight month working with Eva not on just one piece of gear but two. Come to find out she was going to be doing WrestleMania and she needed gear for that as well. Once she finally got that done, she went back to New York where her and Athena, finished up every last piece of gear for Mania. It was hectic and stressful but it all got done in the nick of time.

Harleigha sent the last piece of gear out last week and she was currently in her hotel room finishing up the last touches on the masks that she was going to surprise the Shield with. Tonight was the HOF ceremony which somehow Dean convinced Athena to go to. She was glad that her sister was back on speaking terms with Dean. They were on complete radio silence at one point. It took the last show they did in New York earlier that month for them to finally talk it out. She was happy for them and from what she heard from Roman, Dean had been grumpy ever since Athena left for New York.

Speaking of Roman, that's all that had been on her mind lately. They still hadn't psychically seen each other yet even though he was in New Orleans for Mania, he just happened to have signings and media all day. He told her a couple of hours ago that his last signing was at 8:00 and he'd come see her when he was done. She seriously didn't think her body could last that long. Ever since he left, her body had been longing for his touch, his kiss, his arms around her, anything. He'd be the first thing she thought of when she woke up and definitely the last thing she thought of when she went to bed. She was absolutely consumed by Roman even in her dreams she needed him. Harleigha was going to throw caution into the wind tonight and get her some of Roman because the dreams weren't nearly enough.

Looking at her phone, it was 15 minutes to 8, so she text Roman and told him that she was going to take a nap and to call her when he was on his way up. He replied back with an _"okay, love see you soon."_ Turning the ringer on her phone, she placed it on the nightstand and crawled under the sheets and took a much needed nap.

 _It didn't take long for Roman to enter her dreams. He was standing over her looking at her naked body in awe and hunger. His steel grey eyes traced every tattoo she had and all 20 scars she had scattered across her body, most of which were on her toned stomach. She pulled the covers up over her body in embarrassment. Those scars were of a time that she wanted to forget, given to her by a man that didn't deserve her. However, those didn't stop Roman at all. He gently, grabbed the sheets and threw them on the floor._

" _Why are you hiding, Lei? You're the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid eyes on."_

" _You don't need to see these scars." she replied sheepishly_

" _Why not they're a part of you and gathering how well I know you by now you've grown from them. They don't make me like you any less, if anything they make me appreciate you more."_

" _Roman…I…."_

" _Shhh…let me show you."_

 _Pulling her up by her hands he lifted her up and she locked her toned legs around his waist. Instead of kissing her on her lips, he bent down and kissed her scar closest to her heart, then went to the middle of her chest and right below her right breast before he laid her back on the bed and kissed his way across the scars on her stomach._

" _See, still beautiful Harleigha."_

" _That's not all of them."_

" _Show me then."_

" _Before I do that, I have a question."_

" _What?"_

" _Why haven't you asked me where I got all these from? I know you've thought about it and I'm fairly certain you know that I didn't run into a few walls and down some steps to get these."_

" _Well I figured if you wanted to tell me you would."_

" _You're right. For now I'll just show you."_

 _Turning onto her stomach, she knew when he saw the big scars on her back because she heard him take a sharp inhale. Although, she had huge angel wings on her back they still didn't cover up the scars on her back. She jumped slightly, when she felt his large hand lightly touch her back. From the placement of his hand she could tell he was touching the biggest one she had which was on her left kidney. He then went up to the one that was semi hidden in the tattoo which was located on her right shoulder blade._

" _Harleigha?" He said her name in a choked up voice._

" _What?"_

" _Who did this to you and don't tell me nobody."_

" _Let's just say you'll never meet him."_

Before she got a reply from him, her phone woke her up from her dream. Ironically, she often had this dream and always woke up that point. So for her phone to ring at that exact moment was crazy. Reaching over to the nightstand she grabbed her phone and answered without looking to see who it was.

"Hello."

" **How's my baby girl."**

"She's doing good, just missing her knight and shining armor."

" **What if he told her that he's on his way to her?**

"Then that would make her extremely happy."

" **Well then you're going to have to open the door."**

"Wait. What?"

Before he answered her, there was a strong knock on her door. Slowly, getting out of her entangled web of sheets, she walked to the door. Looking through the door sure enough Roman was standing there looking even better than she thought possible. Hanging up the phone, she threw the door wide open and leapt into his strong arms. He stood there with her in his arms just laughing.

"I take that as you're happy to see me?" he laughed

"What gave it away?"

"Oh I don't know that high flying-esque leap into my arms was a great hint."

"And just when I thought I was getting the hang of subtlety I go and do something so obvious."

"You'll get better with time I promise."

Putting her back down, he put his hands on her face and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her hands around his neck and brought him in closer. It was evident how much they missed each other and she was getting the gist that he missed her as much as she missed him.

"Lei, I need you right now and I'm not about to give this hallway an undeserved show."

Staying attached he slowly backed her into the room and slammed the door shut behind them.

"Harleigha, I wasn't playing when I said I needed you. Meaning I need every last piece of you before I completely implode."

"Roman that is music to my ears."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah I can't stop thinking of you. I was going to get a piece of you tonight if it killed me."

Words went out the window at that point because she saw his eyes glaze over and he licked his lips. Primal was not the word to describe him in that moment. Animalistic was more like it and if her body got any hotter you could probably cook a whole 5 course meal on her. He walked towards her and she backed up until her knees hit the edge of the bed.

"God you're so beautiful."

He grabbed her bun that was messily perched on her head and let her long wavy hair fall until it stopped just past her breasts. Next, he grabbed the bottom of her tank top and raised it over her head. That was when she unconsciously, wrapped her arms across her stomach. This was starting to turn into her recurring dream and she became a lot more self-conscious than she ever thought she would be around Roman. Of course, her change in mood didn't go unnoticed.

"What's wrong Lei? We don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"No it's not you or this situation, it's me honestly."

"I don't understand." He said with a confused look on his face.

"I might as well show you now and give you a chance to back out before it's too late."

"What are you talking about?"

Standing up she started with the scars on her stomach, then unhooked her bra so he could see the one close to her heart, under her right breast, and across her sternum. Then she turned around so he could see the ones on her back as well and just like in her dream she knew when he saw the big one because he inhaled sharply. Next, she of course felt his hand trace her scars. Except, he started with the one on her shoulder blade.

"Now why would you think this would make me run? You're still an angel."

She felt him kiss his way down her back.

"I don't know about all that." She laughed back.

"Sure you are. You're the light that this dark world needs. I know I need it."

"You know the devil was once an angel. I think I fell from such grace a long time ago."

"Hey. Look down. I want you to see that crown that just fell on the ground. You're my queen and I don't ever want you to think anything less of yourself."

"But…"

"No buts. Now let me show you how beautiful I think you are."

Laying her on the bed he hovered over her and looked at her just the way he would in her dreams. Those steely grey eyes trailed over every inch of her body. Grabbing her legs, he slid her basketball shorts off and threw them in the corner. That only left her in her gray silk panties, and he slid those off painfully slow. He took her left leg and examined the tattoo that was on her calf before kissing it and he did the same thing with her right thigh that had a huge wolf on it. Kissing his way all the way up to her coveted vagina he stopped and waited for her to tell him yes before going forward. She nodded at him in approval. He smirked before his thick tongue snaked forward and teased her before his mouth took over. She felt him suck her off and she squirmed against him. His right arm reached up and played with her nipples. His touch was fire against her skin, she was getting high off this man and she couldn't take it.

"Roman…" she breathed out

His response was to lap at her vagina again which caused her to squirm under his touch. At this painfully slow pace she was close to telling him to go ahead and screw her senseless because this teasing was not where it was at. Just as she was about to tell him that, she felt her body get tight and there was a feeling bubbling in her stomach and she knew what came next.

"Don't cum just yet baby girl."

"Roman I can't hold on much longer." she whined

"For me you can and you will." He replied in a commanding tone as he stripped down right in front of her. Her eyes all but popped out of her head when she saw how big he was. Man this dude was packing, so she knew he was about to destroy her. This was about to raw and unfiltered just the way she wanted it.

He lifted her left leg over his shoulder and slowly slid into her so that she could get adjusted to his girth. Once she was accommodated he started to move slowly and it was driving her insane.

"If you don't speed it up I swear."

"Patience, sweetheart."

"Patience is not going to be my virtue right now. Roman I want you to FUCK ME DAMN IT."

"Don't say I didn't try and warn you."

Stopping his slow rhythm he slid out of her, laid her flat on the bed, climbed onto her and rammed into her without any warning. She felt all the breath rush out of her and she got a bit lightheaded. This was what she asked for and she was receiving it all. While he was banging into her, she bit down hard on his arm in an effort to not yell at the top of her lungs. That effort was futile because in that moment he hit her G spot hard and she had no other choice to scream.

"ROMAN FUUCCKK!"

"Are you going to cum for me now?" He asked as he flipped her onto all fours and banged her from behind.

She held onto the headboard as hard as she could or else her head was bound to go clean through it from the way he was hitting it from behind. He was grunting while she was saying every cuss word imaginable and every variation of them. She didn't even know she knew that many variations of fuck, shit, and damn. Talk about some serious clarity.

"Roman, I'm starting to cum." She yelled as her legs started to give out on her.

Feeling her body tense up, she threw her fist into the wall as her body clinched up on her, her vision went wonky, and her breathing got ragged. His stroking finally took her over the edge and they came together. When he was done, he collapsed on top of her, and her legs collapsed beneath her. His weight on top of her didn't feel like a burden but a blessing. For some reason she felt protected beneath him.

"Am I crushing you?" He asked moving her now sticky hair off her back and kissing the tip of her spine.

"Not really."

"Okay I wanted to make sure before I ask this question. I want you to be able to answer me."

"Well then to be on the safe side why don't we get comfortable first."

Getting off of her, he slid to her left so she could climb under the covers and he came in after her. She nuzzled up against his chest and listened to his heart beat slow back down to its normal rhythm.

"Okay what's your pressing question?"

He was silent before finally asking "Where did all those scars come from? There's so many of them in life threatening places Harleigha."

"Roman, now is not the time to be asking me about my life story."

"Harleigha."

"Seriously, if you know what's good for you you'll drop this right now."

"I'm not going to like you any less than I do now if that's what you're worried about. I know enough about you by now to know that you're a strong woman and you grew from those scars. If anything that makes me appreciate you even more."

"I know that. It's just I haven't spoken about this to anybody save for my brother who knows tidbits and I'd rather leave it that way."

"Why?"

"Because the person who did this is fucking psycho and I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"An ex did this to you?"

"Yes. My first and last boyfriend did this to me. Now let's leave it at that. Just be glad you'll never have to meet him if I have anything to do about that. Okay?"

"Are you sure."

"Positive. Now get some sleep you've got a big day tomorrow and I'll be damned if I hear Seth and Dean bitching about you being tired."

Reaching behind her, she pushed the tiny button on the lamp, and the room immediately went into total darkness. Kissing Roman on his lips one last time, she snuggled into him and fell asleep.

"I'll protect you. Always."

She guessed that he didn't think she heard him, but she did and she knew with every fiber of her being that his statement was true. She just hoped it wouldn't ever have to come to him having to protect her from her ex.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Secrets

 _The big day…..WrestleMania DUH!_

Roman woke up to an empty bed. He looked around to see if Harleigha was there and she wasn't. Getting out of the bed he walked to the bathroom but found a note on the floor on his way there. Picking it up he saw that it was a note from Harleigha.

" _Good Morning Roman. If you're reading this then don't panic. Obviously you've noticed I've left. No I didn't leave out of fear if that's what you're thinking. I got a call early from Stephanie and she told me to head to the arena to make sure everybody's gear is set for tonight. She didn't want any glitches to go down tonight. I'll see you soon my knight and shining armor._

 _Your Queen,_

 _Harleigha_

He smiled to himself as he read the note. It made him happy to know that his "queen," statement stuck with her. He never wanted her think any less of herself especially around him. That was not about to fly on his watch even if he spent every waking moment explaining that to her.

Placing the note on the bedside table, he picked up his phone to check the time and noticed that he got a text from Dean telling him to call him ASAP. That wasn't like Dean so he knew it was something serious. Calling his best friend at the ass crack of dawn was not his ideal way of waking up after an amazing night with his girl but he could learn to deal. Dialing the number, he waited for Dean to answer.

" **Hello."** said a deep voice

"You sent a dire text uce. What's up?"

" **Oh that, yeah are you gonna tell her."**

"Tell who, what?"

" **You have any plans to tell Harleigha? I heard her talking to Athena last night or was it early this morning? I don't know and I don't care but from what I'm guessing Harleigha is on cloud nine and she apparently told you something important that she's never told anybody else."**

"Dean how much of that conversation did you hear?"

" **I may or may not have heard the whole thing."**

"DEAN!"

" **What! She had her sister on speakerphone what was I supposed to do?"**

"Fair point."

" **Exactly. Now back to my original question do you have plans on telling Harleigha about "her?"**

"I wasn't planning on it. She's not in my life anymore and that was her choice."

" **Calling some major bullshit Roman. You know that woman is batshit crazy and you know she keeps tabs on you like no one else. If she so much as hears that you've moved on she'll find a way to destroy Harleigha. Plus tonight is the biggest night of the year, you don't think she didn't want to be in attendance. Roman, I'd tell her before she finds out the hard way."**

"She won't find out if I have anything to do with it."

" **Okay Roman. Don't say I didn't warn you. If I've learned anything about Harleigha is that she's ruthless when she gets fucked over and I'm almost positive that you don't want to do that to her."**

"Fine. I'll tell her when the show ends."

" **Alright."**

As they hung up, Roman got the distinct impression that Dean didn't totally believe him when he said he'd talk to Harleigha. He'd be right not to believe him because telling her about his ex was going to be a storm waiting to happen and he had plans to keep that at bay for as long as he possibly could, which in a perfect world would be forever.

* * *

Harleigha had been at the arena since before 7:00. She had been going over everybody's gear especially the Divas. She wanted to make sure all their hooks were secure and that their wouldn't be any nip slips that night. As she was going through each individual piece, it was safe to say she was proud of her work. Surprisingly, one of her favorites was Nikki's and Eva's. Hell as hard as she worked on those two she better be damn proud. Once she was done, she finished up the masks for the Shield that didn't get done last night. She worked on that well into the afternoon until she was interrupted by a voice in her ear.

"Have you eaten today, queen?"

Jumping out of her chair, she clutched her chest.

"Jesus, Roman hasn't anybody ever told you not to sneak up on people."

"No not really but I'm clearly learning right now. What are you working on?" He asked looking over her shoulder.

"Well it was supposed to be a surprise but since you're here why don't you go get dressed, and tell the other two fools to come back with you."

"Okay. But before I leave have you eaten at all today?"

"No, but I'll be fine."

"Lei, it's almost 4:30 and you've been up well before I was. Are you sure I can't go get you something?"

Getting up slowly, she turned and looked Roman in his deep, steely, grey eyes.

"Roman, the only thing you can do is go get ready so I can show you all this damn surprise. I promise I'll be fine. Plus with the show starting, I've got to make sure everybody is okay."

"Why don't you let Athena do that while you get at least a piece of bread, a cookie, or something? You can't be doing this to yourself."

"I know, I know but call me stubborn in this moment okay. Now go get ready." She all but pushed him out the room and went back to finishing her project.

It didn't take her long, well that's at least what she thought because, just as she was about to go find Roman, Dean, and Seth they were coming into the room along with Athena.

"First of all, what time is it?"

"7:30." replied Athena

"Damn I've been cooped up in here all day."

"Lei, you don't remember leaving the room?" asked Roman

"Um no."

"Well after I left, you went and checked on everybody before the show started. If I recall correctly I think you just got back in here." said Roman

"Oh well then I must be having a slight memory issue." she laughed

"Ya think." mumbled Dean

Ignoring his statement, she grabbed the masks off the table and turned around and handed each of them to their respective owners. She stood and watched in complete satisfaction, as their faces lit up like a kids on Christmas.

"That was the last piece of gear I was working on. Made with hard work and a little love." She smiled up at them.

"Wow. These are bad ass." said Seth

"I'm glad you like them. Put them on."

They all did simultaneously, and in that moment she didn't think those three could get any sexier. The women were going to lose their minds when they saw them. Especially, Roman with his hair fanning out perfectly on both sides of his face. If she didn't have a sense of class, she'd have kicked all of them out the room and fucked Roman right there. Damn, he was such a tease and it irritated her to no end. She'll forever ask herself how one man could be so glorious.

Clearly, she had started to daydream because, soon a phone ringing in the distance was bringing her out of her nasty thoughts. Looking to her right, she noticed that it was Seth's phone who was ringing.

"Hello." Seth answered

They couldn't hear who was on the other end of that line but whoever it was made the dude one happy man. She stared at him with an inquisitive look as he hung up the phone and looked like he was bursting to say something that he couldn't get out fast enough.

"Seth spit out before you explode." Harleigha said with a smile on her face.

"Come with me." Was all he said and they followed him out into the hallway and onto the elevator that would eventually connect them to the main corridor.

"Okay, Seth what's this big reveal or whatever the fuck you want to show us?" asked Dean

Just as he was about to answer Dean, a voice called out to Seth. One voice that she knew extremely well. Squinting, just to make sure she wasn't seeing things, the figure got closer and it was exactly who she thought it was.

"Amaria." She mumbled to herself as Athena nudged her like she was in shock as well.

They just stood there as Amaria went straight into Seth's arms.

"What the actual fuck." Harleigha and Athena both finally said.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Surprises

 ****Talk about a few twists in this chapter. I apologize ahead of time. Enjoy I know I did! xo****

Seth and Amaria both turned and looked at her.

"Twin?" Amaria said inquisitively before completely running at her in pure excitement.

"Hey sis. Isn't this one helluva shocker." said Harleigha

"Yeah can someone please explain what the hell is going on?" asked Dean

Roman was the first to put it together after closely analyzing Harleigha and Amaria.

"Holy shit they're twins. Seth, dude how did you not see the resemblance?" asked Roman

"I have no earthly clue. I guess good genes really do run in this family." Seth laughed

"Am I the only one that wants to know how my damn sister and Seth even got together?" asked Athena.

Harleigha let go of her twin sister and turned and looked at Athena. The girl was clearly in shock and it took every fiber of her being not to laugh at her even though she asked a legitimate question.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm peachy sis. What I'm trying to grasp is how you're not completely tripping out."

"I think I'm in shock and can't exactly comprehend what's going on if I'm being honest."

Turning to Amaria, she waited for her to explain how this even happened. Granted she didn't talk to her twin sister very often because she was too busy becoming a big time lawyer, she still would've liked to know this little tidbit. So now was a time as good as any for her to get to explaining.

"Amaria, care to explain what you're doing here and how in the hell you met Seth? Plus I want to know why you didn't tell me?"

"What? Like you told me that you were working here?"

"Not the point sis."

"Wait a minute. Who's older?" asked Dean

"I am." stated Harleigha

"Why does that not surprise me?" mumbled Dean

"By twelve minutes. Don't let it get to your head like usual." Amaria laughed

"Ha ha ha Amaria. Now let's get back to you explaining what is going on with you and Seth?"

They all headed back down the corridor and to the backstage area as Amaria explained how they met. Apparently, when they did a show a few months back in Chicago, where Amaria was staying for a while, they met at some local bar. Harleigha was shocked that her sister even made it out the house let alone to a bar because this girl was so shy she was one conversation short of talking to herself. Plus with her ever growing status in the law community she barely even saw her and they all lived in New York. Their family was super weird that way. However, it was cool hearing that her sister got her head out the books long enough to smell the roses of life.

"Leigha, you're not mad at me are you?" Asked Amaria once she was done explaining how she met Seth.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because you get all "grrrrr" when Athena dates someone so I was prepared for something like that."

"First of all I don't "grrrrr."

"Um Lei need I recall how you did Dean?" asked Athena

"Okay that was different and you know it."

"What about all my previous boyfriends?"

"Damn how many have you had Athena?" asked Dean

All Athena did was smack him in the back of his head.

"Okay. Okay. Maybe I am a bit "grrrr" but it's because I love y'all. Now back to my previous statements before I was so rudely corrected and interrupted. Amaria I'm not mad at you and I'm not going to go all batshit crazy on Seth. He's harmless anyway."

"I resent that statement." Seth said

"Don't push it there Rollins." laughed Harleigha

* * *

Roman watched in awe as he looked at what was almost a carbon copy of Harleigha. The only difference was Harleigha was a bit rougher around the edges which he liked. Amaria on the other hand was sweet as pie. She had a soft voice, big brown doe eyes, and a smile that could light up a city. He could tell that she brought joy with her wherever she went. Roman liked her already.

They all had stopped in front of a monitor to watch the match that was on the screen. They found out earlier where they were on the card and he knew they had at least one more match before they were set to go on. He wrapped his arms around Harleigha and just reveled in her. Standing there, what Dean told him earlier came to the forefront of his mind. He knew deep down that he had to tell her but he didn't know how in the hell to bring that up in conversation and he didn't want to lose her in the process. However, he also knew that if he didn't say something her finding out was bound to cause even more problems and it was a sure fire way to lose Harleigha for good. He most definitely didn't want that. He felt at absolute peace when he was in her presence. Just hearing her name sent shivers down his spine. He knew when she was around because his body reacted to her presence. He never had a connection like that with anyone before. He might actually be falling in love with her and he didn't mind that in the slightest.

"What you thinking about up there big man?"

Harleigha looked up at him and smiled.

"Nothing just you beautiful." He bent down and pecked her on her lips and then both sides of her neck. He loved doing that. Feeling the pulse radiating through her body. Knowing that she was alive both figuratively and literally. It's like he could feel her pulse speed up when he kissed her there and he relished in the fact that he could make her body react that way.

"Roman."

A voice that wasn't Harleigha's nor did anybody in his immediate vicinity have the voice that just cut through the air. The voice that had him frozen to this very spot. Planted and unable to turn around and face that voice. A voice that he thought he'd never hear, a body that he thought he'd never ever see again. This was a voice he vowed to make stay away. That voice was right behind him now and he couldn't move. He felt Harleigha freeze inside his arms, and looking up into both Seth and Dean's eyes he knew his world was about to come crashing down. All he was reading was "oh shit," from their faces. He fucked up big time. The one thing he vowed to not have happen was happening right now.

"Roman I know you hear me calling your name."

There that voice went again. It was like nails on a chalkboard except he was the chalkboard. It felt like he was being skinned alive in that moment. What was she doing here? Damn it he should've listened to Dean just this once instead of being stubborn and downright stupid and selfish. Well he guessed he had to face the inevitable before she called his name one more damn time.

Turning with Harleigha still in his arms he faced that voice. He was facing something far worse than what his body went through on a daily basis. He would rather get punched in the face one hundred times by Big Show than deal with his current situation.

"Hello Makayla." He said in a dry tone.

"What? Not happy to see me my love." She replied with a smirk on her face.

"Not really. What do you want?"

"I came to see my husband on the biggest night of the year."

Fuck was the only word that went through his mind as Harleigha jumped out of his arms and he heard Athena ask Dean what the hell was going on. He couldn't look at Harleigha because he knew that the moment he did her face would shatter his world. So he opted for the floor and his boots. He'd never examined something so hard in life before that day.

"Roman what is she talking about?"

He didn't answer her. He couldn't.

"Roman I asked you a simple question and I demand a motherfucking answer right the gotdamn fuck now."

"Shit your sister knows a mouthful of cuss words doesn't she?"

He heard Seth ask Amaria behind him.

"ROMAN!"

"Sweetheart…"

"Don't you dare speak to her." Roman growled

"Well you weren't so what's the harm in me saying something?"

"Makayla if you so much as look in her direction one more damn time I swear it will be the last thing you ever do. You will not speak to her, breathe in her direction, or sniff the air in her immediate vicinity. Nothing. Understood?"

"Roman." Makayla said in a patronizing tone.

"Say you understand me right now." He said in a low menacing voice.

"No."

"What did you just say to me?"

He slowly walked towards her and got right in her face. He was much taller so he bent down just so she knew how serious he was.

"Try that statement just a little a louder. You just said what to me?"

"I said N.O. NO! I wasn't speaking a foreign language. You obviously weren't going to tell her who I was so I took it upon myself to do so."

Walking away from him, Makayla went right up to Harleigha and stuck her hand out. Instead of shaking it, she looked at it in pure disgust and turned to him.

"Roman I want to hear it straight from your mouth who in the holy high fucking hell is this?"

"Harleigha, this is my wife Makayla."

She didn't say anything just looked at him. He couldn't read her expression and that scared him shitless.

"Your what? Don't you mean EX wife?"

"Nope wife." Said Makayla

"SHUT UP!" They both yelled at her.

"Roman I don't understand." She said in a confused voice.

Before he could answer another voice cut through air. This moment just went from terrible to absolutely deadly.

"Daddy!"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Broken Trust

Roman felt like he just got punched in his stomach. This situation couldn't have gotten any worse. That voice that just called his name was one he hadn't heard in months. Not through a choice of his own but because Makayla was for lack of better terms a total bitch. He didn't like using that word to describe a woman but unfortunately that's exactly what she was.

"Daddy!" The voice called out to him again.

Turning around he squatted so his daughter could run straight into his arms. She gave him a big hug and the smile on her face was breathtaking as always.

"Hello, my beautiful Samaria. How's daddy's little girl?"

"I missed you daddy."

"I missed you too baby."

"Where's Uncle Dean?!" Samaria asked

Dean came up behind him and she jumped into his arms. Standing up, he watched as Dean went up to where Athena was standing with her sister and Seth. He knew Dean did that on purpose so that he could talk to Harleigha and Makayla in private. If he didn't patch this up in some capacity he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight or any night after that until Harleigha was laying in his arms once again.

He looked at Harleigha, pleading with his eyes for her to hear him out. Her face was one of disappointment, anger, and confusion. He wished he knew how to explain this but he fucked up so bad. However, she opened to door for him to at least try.

"Roman. I'm going to give you five minutes to explain this."

He looked at Makayla who had a ginormous smirk on her face. She was relishing this moment. The complete implosion of his life on the biggest night of the year was a complete joke to her. God he hated her with a passion.

"Nuh uh Harleigha there's no explaining to be had." Said Athena from behind him.

"Shit." He mumbled under his breath.

"Athena wait. Let him explain."

"No absolutely not. The proof is in the pudding. He's got a wife and daughter that he didn't tell you about. What's there to explain Lei?"

He watched as Harleigha struggled to come up with an answer to that question.

"Athena it's not what you think." he said

"Excuse me? It's not what I think? Then you know what I take it back. Please do explain this clusterfuck of a situation."

"Athena just leave it alone. I don't think I can handle an explanation right now anyway." Harleigha said to her sister.

Before he could stop her Harleigha ran off, towards the garage connected to the backstage area.

"You proud of yourself big man?" Athena asked in a serious tone.

"Not in the slightest Athena."

"Well I'm proud of him if that counts for anything." said Makayla

"Makayla, get out. Take Samaria, go find your seats, and finish watching the damn show. I will talk to you about this later but I don't need this right now."

"Mmm so feisty just like I remember. I will always love that about you."

Makayla rubbed her hand down his toned tattooed arm.

"Don't ever touch me again Makayla. You lost that right a long damn time ago. Now get out of here now."

"Fine if that's what you want."

"That's what I want now go."

"Samaria say goodbye to Dean and Seth so we can go. Daddy will be coming out soon and you don't want to miss him." said Makayla

"Bye Uncle Dean and Uncle Seth. Good luck."

Roman smiled as he watched his daughter say goodbye. He gave her a big kiss before he watched her head out of the backstage area with her hand in her mother's. Despite what was going on with him and Makayla his daughter would always be his angel and he'd die protecting her. She didn't even understand what was going on and he was happy about that except he knew Makayla was warping her mind and it was bothering him to no end. There just wasn't anything he could do about it.

* * *

Harleigha was standing at the top of the parking garage overlooking the vibrant city that was New Orleans. She couldn't believe what just happened and she'd rather not think about but her brain just wasn't having it. She wanted to believe that Roman had a reasonable explanation for not telling her but anything she thought of didn't add up. Why didn't he just tell her? He had to know that would've been easier than not telling her at all. It had to of crossed his mind that he would lose her by not saying something. Was she not worth losing? How could she let herself get so wrapped up in a man that she thought she was beginning to love? Why was her track record with men so terrible? She just wanted one damn man that would treat her right without running over her and destroying every fiber of her being. Just once was all she asked. She just wanted to know the love of man that wouldn't crush her in the long run. She thought Roman was it but obviously she was terribly wrong.

"You plan on staying up here all night?"

Craning her neck she turned to see Dean walking towards her.

"Dean what are you doing out here? Don't you have your match coming up soon?" She said in a frantic tone.

"Calm down. We already had it and our aftermatch promo. Your sisters couldn't find you and they were getting worried about you."

"Damn how long have I been up here?

"Apparently, almost an hour."

"Damn. Well how did you find me?"

"Roman said you had a thing for hiding in parking garages. I figured I'd come talk to you instead. There's been something I've been wanting to speak to you about anyway."

"Dean if you came out here to tell me "I told you so," you can turn around and go back to watching the rest of the show. I'd rather you not drag me for the filth I am right now."

Coming to stand next to her, she could feel him staring at her. She continued to look out at the city, wishing she was anywhere but there.

"Harleigha, that's not why I'm here."

"Then why are you? I'm sure there's nothing you could say to me right now to make me feel any better or did you forget that you're not tactful when it comes to me."

"Well if you'd hush for a few minutes I'll tell you."

"Sorry."

"Thank you."

"Mhm."

"Now I know you don't want to hear this right now but I'm going to tell you there's more to what happened earlier than you know. I get you're upset that he didn't tell you but he's got his reasons. A major one being he wanted to protect you."

"Trust me I learned a long time ago how to protect myself. I don't need some man who can't even tell me what he's protecting me from trying to protect me in the first place."

"I understand what you're saying but you've got to give him a chance to explain. He's a wreck right now knowing he fucked up this bad."

"Well he should feel like shit. I'm sorry I'm not shedding a tear over him not choosing to open his mouth and say something about him having a damn wife and daughter. He made the conscious choice to omit that little tidbit in his life and now he's dealing with the consequences."

"You remember when I told you to stay away from him?"

"How could I forget I vaguely remember you calling me a two cent ho as well."

"Sorry about that. I wanted you to stay away from him not because I thought you were trouble but because I wanted to protect you."

"Well you certainly had a funny way of showing that."

"I know I know. I just figured if I was as foul as I could possibly be you wouldn't want to be around us long enough to get to know him. I knew that the moment he laid eyes on you he'd like you. You're sweet, genuine, strong willed, and protective. Pretty much everything he needed and deserved I just knew that he'd hurt you in the long run with this secret. I was right."

"Dean I'm confused."

"I purposely treated you like shit because I knew you were perfect for him but I didn't want to see you get hurt like this. I was pushing you away for him."

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Not my story to tell. I guess things were meant to play out this way. You'll figure this out. I don't think you guys will last without each other. You're each other's beating heart, the sunshine that shines bright every day. You keep each other going and I've never seen any woman do that for Roman. Just like you trusted in Athena and I getting back together I have that same trust in you two."

"I'll think about it. I can't look at him right now though I'm thoroughly disgusted."

"Will you promise me that you'll give him a chance to explain? Maybe not tonight but one day. Please?"

"I can't promise you that Dean. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize just think about it."

"I can do that hell I don't think I have much of a choice at this point." She smirked at him.

"Come here."

She just looked at Dean when he said that.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because Roman loves saying that to me."

"Oh, sorry."

Instead of her coming up to him, he pulled her into his arms and just held her. She wasn't expecting that and she didn't realize it was something she needed. He just held her and rubbed her back and she felt every bone in her body loosen up.

"Thank you Dean I needed that."

"I know you did."

She just shook her head at him.

"You want me to leave you up here a little while longer?"

Just as she was about to tell Dean to leave her, her phone starting buzzing in her back pocket. She held up a finger telling him to wait while she answered it.

"Hello?"

" _Where are you?"_

"Excuse me?"

" _I asked you where you were. Why aren't you in New York?"_

"The same reason you left like 8 years ago. I'm trying to make a life for myself. So what do you want Brian? You and I haven't talked in God knows how long."

" _Well I just got a phone call from the hospital since they couldn't get ahold of you, Athena, or Amaria."_

"A call from the hospital. Why?"

" _Because mom got attacked on her way into her house, and she's in pretty bad shape. She'll live but they think it's a good idea for her to have family there right now. I'm on my way and I should get their close to one in the morning. Just thought I'd let you know."_

"Um thanks for calling. I'll see how soon I can get there."

" _Alright. Bye."_

Hanging up she just stared into the space in front of her. She felt like her world was closing in on her. Her heart was racing, her body was shaking, and in the distance she thought she heard Dean calling her name but it wasn't fully registering. Next thing she knew everything went dark in front of her and she was on the ground. The last thing she heard was Dean saying "shit," in the distance.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Shattered

 ****Y'all are seriously getting spoiled this week with this story. Enjoy! xo****

"Dean what happened?" Harleigha heard somewhere in the distance. She didn't know where she was or what was going on, she just knew that she wasn't vertical.

The last thing she remembered was getting a call from her brother but she couldn't quite seem to remember what the call was about. She knew it was weird him calling her because she hadn't physically seen her brother in at least eight years and she rarely even spoke to him outside of him calling on holidays.

"Harleigha can you hear me?" Came a voice next to her right ear.

"Dean what happened, dude?" She heard someone else ask.

"I don't know. She got a phone call from someone and then she just passed out."

"Could you hear what it was about?"

"No, but her demeanor completely changed when she answered."

Too many voices in her head, she thought. To many voices, she needed for them to be quiet. She couldn't concentrate. What was going on? Where was she? Was she imagining this, reliving this, or was this happening right now. She didn't know. Why didn't she know anything?

"Dean, give me her phone."

She felt a large arm reach over her with her IPhone in hand. She didn't see who the recipient was but she knew she needed to get her phone back.

"It was…"

"Shhhh….she's trying to talk."

"It was Brian."

She heard both her sisters say "oh fuck," simultaneously.

"Who's Brian?" A deep voice asked. She knew that voice.

"Roman? Where are you?" Harleigha asked.

"I'm right here."

He was the voice in her right ear. Slowly, with that voice reverberating in her mind she was starting to remember everything that happened. Specifically, what happened with Roman. However, she still couldn't remember why her brother called.

"Call him back sis." she said

"Who?" asked Amaria

"Brian. I can't seem to remember why he called."

While she waited for her sister to call Brian back, she concentrated on opening her eyes so she could figure out what in the hell happened. However, the moment the light shined through, she had to shut her eyes immediately. She didn't realize how badly her head was pounding until that moment. Was she hung over or something?

"Am I drunk?" she asked

"No, sweetheart." Roman replied.

Although, she knew she couldn't stand the sight of him, having Roman next to her was oddly soothing. She could feel him rubbing his hand on her arm.

"Hey Brian it's Amaria. What do you want?"

She heard the pure disgust coming from her sister. Harleigha was willing to bet that Amaria hated Brian the most out of all of them and Amaria didn't hate many people. After Brian left she tried explaining to her the best that she could but Amaria wasn't buying it. Although, Harleigha and Brian were the closest, he always had a soft spot for Amaria. So when he left it hit her extremely hard.

" _Why are you asking why I called Amaria? What, Harleigha didn't tell you? I guess she really does have a thing for keeping things to herself."_

"Oh I'm more than positive that she'd have told us if she hadn't passed out after getting off the phone with you."

" _Well sounds like a personal problem that I don't care about nor do I care to fix."_

"God you're such an insensitive douche Brian."

" _That's not new news you knew that already Amaria. Now if you must know I called about mommy dearest."_

"What about mom?"

" _I got a call from the hospital earlier."_

"Wait where are you?"

" _I'm currently at the San Antonio airport on my way up to New York where you all should've been but clearly you wanted a rendezvous in New Orleans. Let me guess you're all getting drunk on Bourbon St."_

"You know what I'm not going to dignify that asinine statement with a response. Now answer my fucking question damn it."

" _Now I know you don't kiss momma with that mouth."_

"Brian!" Amaria finally yelled at him. She had been calm this whole time but she had officially lost all her patience.

" _Goodness sis no need to blow my eardrum out."_ he cackled

"Brian I swear to God you've got thirty seconds to answer my mothafucking question. I don't even want to be talking to you right now but since Leigha insisted I call your lame ass back here I am."

" _Okay I'm done messing with you. So I got a call from the hospital a few hours ago after they called all of you and couldn't reach any of you. They told me mom had gotten attacked going into her house tonight. She'll be okay but she's pretty badly messed up and they felt that it would be a good idea to have family around."_

"Oh my gosh."

" _Well now that I've told you I've gotta go and I think that took less than thirty seconds so bye."_

"So that's your brother huh?" asked Roman

"Mhm." Harleigha mumbled

"Sounds like such a peach."

Using Roman's arms Harleigha found her way back into a sitting position. While she was listening to her sister and brother go at it she finally managed to open her eyes and figure out her surroundings. She wasn't where she expected to be that's for sure. She was laying on a queen sized bed in somebody's hotel room. So it must've been later than she realized.

"What time is it?"

"Almost midnight." Athena answered. Her sister came forward with a glass of water in her hand. She took it in her trembling hands and chugged the whole thing down. She was seriously parched.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah my head's pounding a little bit but I think I'll be fine."

"Here take this."

Amaria handed her a huge pill while Athena went and refilled her glass.

"Where did you get this?"

"Dean took you to the trainer's room when you passed out and they told us to get you some heavy duty pain pills. So we stopped at a 24 hour Walgreens and got you some. They said that you should be fine." Amaria answered

"I'll hold you to that twin."

"I know you will."

She took the giant pill in her hands just as Athena returned with the water. It was a tough pill to swallow no pun intended. Harleigha really hoped this thing worked fast because they needed to get to New York as soon as possible.

"So what are we going to do about getting to New York?"

"We spoke to Stephanie while you were out so and she said she was planning on giving you time off after these past six months anyway since you worked so hard. Now that this has happened with mom you have to go home anyway." said Athena

"Well why don't we leave like now. I can't imagine mom being in that hospital all by herself right now."

"Lei you'll be no help to her if you keep passing out." said Athena

"She's right Harleigha."

Harleigha just stared at Amaria and Athena. She knew they were right and there was nothing she could say that would change their minds on this. They probably already had that figured out while she was knocked out anyway.

"Fine." She grumbled.

Crawling back under the sheets she just pouted. She hated when everybody was right.

"Get some rest and we'll leave in the morning okay?" Athena came around the side of the bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Harleigha watched as everybody left the room including Roman. Every bone in her body was screaming at her to let him leave. Except, she wasn't going to be able sleep that night if he wasn't with her. She needed the warmth of his body and the strength in his arms to hold her together. He still had some explaining to do but that was just going to have to wait. They'd talk it out in due time but that time wasn't then.

"Roman don't go." She called out to him.

He slowly turned around and fixed his grey eyes on her.

"Are you sure about that Lei?" Asked Athena from behind him.

"Yeah sis I am. I didn't completely forget everything while I was out. I just need this right now."

"Okay."

Athena was the last to leave and she shut the door behind herself. Roman locked the door behind him and slowly walked towards the bed. Kicking off his shoes, he slid into the bed next to her and just held her without saying one word. She felt him reach behind him as he went to turn off the lamp on the nightstand. Scooting her body closer to him she laid her head on his toned stomach while he rubbed her back and she fell asleep just like that.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Attempted Apology

 ****MATURE CONTENT****

Cracking her eyes open a little, Harleigha woke up to a semi dark room. There was a little light shining on her face but not enough to illuminate the whole room. She guessed that it was at least 5:30 in the morning. Raising a hand to her face to wipe the sleep out of her eyes, she felt that her cheeks were damp. She must've cried herself to sleep because not only were her cheeks damp but so was Roman's shirt where she laid her head. Raising her head, she looked up to see Roman staring at her. She couldn't read his face.

"Did you get any sleep?" She asked in a groggy voice.

"Not really." He replied quietly.

"Why not?"

"Because all I could think about was you and how much I hurt you."

"Roman, no. Not this conversation. Not right now."

"Lei please. I can't go another day without you knowing and understanding what happened."

Getting up off his stomach, Harleigha scooted to the edge of the bed. If they were going to have this conversation right now then she couldn't be that close to him. She refused to be in a vulnerable state in that moment.

"Roman I can read between the lines. It was pretty clear why you didn't tell me."

"Do you think I love Makayla?"

"I don't really know. I can't think of any other reason as to why you didn't tell me about her."

"Maybe too protect you. Kind of like how you're protecting me."

Turning around she looked at him incredulously.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Nevermind."

"No, you brought it up so now explain what that's supposed to mean."

"I meant it as in reference to your scars."

"What about them?"

"You won't tell me who gave them to you."

"And what would you do with that information anyway? It's not like you'll ever see him. I know you're not trying to equate you not telling me about your WIFE and DAUGHTER, to me not telling you who stabbed me within an inch of my life numerous times. It's not even remotely the same thing."

"Why isn't it the same thing?"

"Because at least I can prepare for that kind of information involving a wife and daughter. I won't be blindsided like I was. Me telling you who my ex-boyfriend is does nothing for you. However, if you must know the last time I ever heard from him was when I went to get a restraining order on him and I found out he fled the country. So in short, I haven't seen him in almost five years so I doubt you'll ever run into him."

"Look I'm sorry. I'm sorry about it all. I knew better and Dean tried to warn me about all this and I didn't listen."

"As much as I know you're sorry you're going to have to do better than that. I need more than "I'm sorry," for me to understand your reasoning."

"Like what?"

"You're smart Roman. You'll figure out what I need to move on. Until then, we can't do this."

Taking a deep breath, she slowly scooted off the bed. She still felt a little rough around the edges and her vision was a bit wonky. She managed to find her bag full of clothes, so she went to grab some before taking a shower.

"Where are you going?"

"To take a shower and by the time I get out I want you gone."

Harleigha just left him lying on the bed as she headed into the bathroom to wash all the pain away.

* * *

Roman watched as Harleigha walked into the bathroom. He closed his eyes as he heard the water turn on. Listening to the water running so much went through his head. How could he do this to her? He lost the woman that was turning his life into something beautiful. He had a rough time with women. They always wanted something in return. It was mostly the materialistic things. However, Harleigha wasn't like that. She walked her own path. Followed her own rules. Protected her family like their pain was hers to bear. He had never experienced a woman like her before and there she was standing in that bathroom preparing to walk away from him.

"Fuck this."

Getting up off the bed he headed towards the bathroom door. His hand froze over the handle. He knew the moment that he turned the knob there was no turning back from what he wanted to do. Breathing slowly, he turned the knob and silently opened the door. The sight before him was breathtaking. He knew Harleigha was beautiful but damn she looked like an angel. The glass surrounding the shower hadn't completely fogged up yet so he got a good view of her. With her back to him, his eyes trailed over her body. The angel wings that covered her back were all but glowing under the water. Every time she would bend to wash herself, her back muscles would flex. He didn't realize how muscular she was until then. It wasn't overly muscular but she was strong in all the right places. From her back all the way down to her thick calf muscles. God she was magnificent as he stood in the doorway admiring her. When she turned to face him she jumped.

"What are you doing Roman?"

"Attempting to apologize." He replied back.

She just looked at him. He kept his eyes fixed on her as he completely stepped into the bathroom and locked the door behind them. Reaching for the hem of his shirt he pulled it over his head. Next he went for his pants and slid them down. He was standing there as naked as she was except he was the one with everything to lose. If she kicked him out he wouldn't ever live that down. They just stood there staring at each other daring the other one to move. She held all the cards. She was the one that could kick him out or let him into that shower. He was really hoping for the latter because he was getting hard as fuck and he needed to be inside her. She saved him the act of having to leave by opening the shower door to him. As he walked to the door she turned her back to him. He stepped inside and shut them in together. Walking up behind her, he wanted to pull her hair out of its bun but he wasn't about to hear her bitch at him for messing up her hair. So instead he bent down and kissed his way down her back. While he kissed her, his large hands reached around to the front of her and trailed their way up to her breasts. He felt her breath hitch as his fingers traced her nipples and made them hard. He felt her right hand cover his and take it away from her breast. She trailed it slowly across her toned stomach down towards her vagina. She stopped right at her clit and waited for him to make his move. She took her hand off his and brought his face around to hers.

"I want you to kiss me while you finger fuck me."

Her voice was deep and low while her eyes were glazed over. Just looking at her made his dick jump. He wanted to enter her right then but he was going to please her the way she wanted first. Using the water as lubrication, he took his time entering her. She jumped as his fingertips traced her first. When he felt she was teased enough he entered one, then two, and finally three fingers into her. He covered his mouth with hers as his fingers went to work. They moaned into each other as the water rained down over both of them. As his fingers starting going faster and faster she started to jerk against him. He could feel her getting close because her walls started squeezing against his fingers. God he couldn't wait to get inside of her and feel that same tightening sensation against his dick.

"Roman." She said his name breathlessly.

He looked up to see her eyes rolling into the back of her head. He moved his fingers faster and faster inside of her.

"Roman." She said again.

"What baby. Tell me what you want."

"Help me. Please." She moaned out.

He saw her starting to squirm and grab at air trying to hang onto anything to keep her upright. Wrapping his leg around her so she wouldn't slip, he helped her ride out her orgasm.

"Cum for me baby girl." He said in a commanding tone.

He felt her walls close around him and he knew she was close. So instead of letting her cum on his finger, he slid them out and replaced his fingers with his tongue. Lapping at her vagina, he sucked her off until she was struggling to stay upright.

"Ah shit." She said as she came undone on him.

Standing up he turned her around and looked into her eyes.

"You taste just as beautiful as you look Harleigha."

Looking behind him he saw a small bench, so he went to sit on it and pulled her into him. He was hard as a rock and he needed to release himself.

"What are you looking at handsome?"

"You. Harleigha I want you to fuck me. Will you fuck me?"

"I thought you'd never ask." She smirked at him. That look made his dick even harder if that was possible. He could feel the pulse coming from him. It was painful and if he didn't enter her he'd cum all over the shower.

He turned her around and brought her body down to his. Although, he wanted to see her face while she fucked him, the shower wasn't big enough for all that so he had to make do with what they had. Placing his hands on her hips he directed her right over him. She did the rest. Sliding slowly onto him, he let her adjust to his size before she started moving on him. While she rode him, his hand went around her and he traced circles around her clit. He sped up with her movements and in a short time they were moving in sync with each other. As she rode him, he felt them becoming one. The emotions that poured from him into her was enough to destroy any man.

"I love you, sweetheart." He said into her ear.

She turned around to him, smiled and winked at him. He learned that sometimes she wasn't good with words but in that moment he knew that was her way of saying she loved him back. Plus he was sure that she was a bit occupied trying not to scream his name at the top of her lungs.

"Roman I'm about to cum."

"I know baby I feel you."

Standing up while still inside of her, he rammed her face first into the glass. He banged into her from behind while she said his name with every thrust. His name coming from her mouth that way was erotic as hell to him. If he had any control over who said his name, he'd only leave that honor to her. Feeling her walls squeeze on his dick, he rammed into her even harder. He felt himself getting close as well.

"Cum with me Lei."

He didn't have to say it twice because as soon as he said it she screamed his name into the shower, as he bit into her shoulder and came with her. It took them a few minutes to catch their breath. By the time they were done the four glass walls encasing the shower were fogged over from top to bottom. Slowly removing himself from her, he turned her around and kissed her again.

"What was all this for?" She asked him.

"I figured if I never see you again at least I'd get a chance to remember you in the best way possible. I wouldn't even be remotely okay knowing that you were out there somewhere upset with me. When I say I love you baby girl I love you deeply. I feel you before I see you. I know you're there even if you're not right next to me. You're in my veins Harleigha."

Opening the door, he stepped out and grabbed them both some towels. He wrapped one around his waist first before helping her out of the shower and handing the other towel to her. He watched as she dried herself off and walked out of the bathroom with the towel covering all of her. Now that he had seen everything there was to see from Harleigha he couldn't imagine looking at another woman. Nobody would ever compare. She was in a league of her own. When he came out of the bathroom, she was laying on the bed staring at him. He could tell a lot was on her mind as he put his clothes on. He knew she was trying to piece everything that just happened together. It was selfish of him to do what they just did but he just couldn't leave without having her one last time. With his clothes finally on, he walked over to the bed and kissed her on the forehead without saying a word.

"I love you too Roman."

Those were the last words he heard before he granted her wish of walking away. It was the hardest thing he ever had to do but as he stepped out of the room he knew it was something that had to be done for the both of them.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: The Past Catching Up

 ****** **This story might start getting deep at times. I apologize in advance. I'll try to keep it lighthearted when I can but this part of the story has been speaking to me for a while so hang with me if you can. If you can't I more than understand and I thank you for lasting this long. xo****

Harleigha just laid there staring at the ceiling unable to move. What just happened in that bathroom was intense. They were all but swimming in each other's emotions. However, that wasn't enough for her to let him stay around. She knew he was trying to apologize but she needed that in words more than sex. Watching him leave that room she had to at least let him know that she loved him or he'd be constantly thinking that she hated him. She didn't hate him even though she rightfully should. Instead, she was more so confused and upset.

There was a knock on her hotel room door and she just stayed in the bed. The knock came harder and she continued to ignore it. She didn't feel like dealing with anybody. She needed time to pull herself together before she got ready to leave. If she didn't then her sisters would get to asking questions that she wasn't ready to answer. Especially Athena because she was a shark smelling blood when she found out one of her sisters were in trouble.

"Harleigha open up."

She froze at the voice that came through the door. That voice couldn't be there. It wasn't possible. Not today, she really didn't need that. Her heart started to pound and her hands began to sweat. She knew her sisters hadn't left yet and it hadn't been long since Roman left but she couldn't move to call any of them. She was frozen in the bed fearing once again for her life. A feeling that she hadn't experienced in years.

"Harleigha I know you're in there. Open the door sweetheart."

That voice was exactly how she remembered it. Deep, commanding, and most importantly manipulative. She felt herself slowly moving to the door to see if what she was hearing was true. Reaching the door, she leaned forward and looked through the peephole. The person behind that door was exactly who she feared it was. Stepping back she almost fell in a panic. She didn't know what to do. Well that was lie, she knew that Roman and her sisters were only a phone call away but she couldn't bring herself to call them. They didn't know the extent of her relationship and she worked so hard to keep it that way.

"Lei my love, I feel you. Open the door."

"GO AWAY!" She yelled back. She surprised herself by saying that. She thought she'd completely lost her voice.

"Aw that's my baby girl. Now come open the door for me."

Against her better judgment she pulled herself together, threw on some clothes and opened the door only a bit. She kept the deadbolt on the door as she peeked out at the man that made her life a living hell for almost four years.

"How…..How….How did you find me Brandon?"

"You're the love of my life. How could I not find you?"

"Brandon you're just as delusional as I remember. What are you doing here?"

"I heard you weren't in New York."

"Brandon there's nobody in New York that would tell you where I was. So stop bullshittin me."

"That's where you're wrong. Amaria is quite impressionable."

"See I'd believe you if I didn't already know that Ri had no idea where I was."

"So you've gotten smarter since we've last talked."

"Yeah I have now you've got thirty seconds to get the hell outta here before I call the cops."

"Good luck with that sweetheart. We both know how well cops worked out for you in the past."

Harleigha looked Brandon straight in his eye and she knew that if he could get to her he would attack her. She saw it in his eyes. He had that look that petrified her to her core every single time he wanted to treat her like his bitch. She had to get him out of there before the worst happened again. She wasn't going to ask him again how he found her but she needed to know what he wanted and hopefully then he'd leave. God forbid Roman or her sisters decided to come check on her, she couldn't be caught with Brandon.

"What do you want from me?" She struggled to ask. Harleigha was hoping it was a simple answer because she wasn't in the mood to degrade herself to please this self-serving bastard.

"It's simple. You."

"Me? What are you talking about?"

"I want you back. I know we ended on bad terms but…."

"Wait a minute before you finish that. Bad terms? Really? You call stabbing me an inch away from my heart bad terms. You can't be serious right now."

"I thought if I gave you your space that eventually you'd come back but you didn't. So I had to take measures that led me to this moment. Give me another chance Lei. Please I promise I've changed."

Before she could respond to his ridiculous statement she heard her name being called from down the hall. Thankfully it wasn't Roman's but who it actually was probably wasn't much better under her current circumstances.

"Harleigha are you okay?"

"I'm okay Dean."

"Who are you?" Dean asked Brandon

"I could ask you the same thing ummmm who are you?"

"Don't worry about who I am."

"Oh protective aren't you. What? Are you her new man? Ha! It's laughable that she thinks she can replace me." said Brandon

"Brandon just leave already damn."

"You heard the lady and I'm pretty sure you don't want me to show you the way out." Dean said getting into Brandon's face. He towered over him with his 6'4 foot frame. Brandon barely reached six feet so he looked small compared to Dean.

"Fine. Harleigha this isn't over. Don't think that I won't get what I want in the end. I always win remember that."

She couldn't even respond to that. She just watched from the crack in the door as he backed away from Dean and left. It still rattled her as to how he found her and she knew she was in big trouble if she didn't find a way to stop this. She was crazy to think this ended when she went looking for that restraining order. This wouldn't ever stop until he was in prison and that wasn't very likely considering he should already be there for attempted murder.

"Harleigha can you hear me? Harleigha?"

"Huh what?"

"Hey can you let me in?"

"Yeah sure Dean hold on."

She shut the door so she could unlock the deadbolt before opening it again and letting him in. She left it open as she went to sit on the bed. Putting her head in between her legs she breathed slowly to calm herself down. That was the only thing that worked after dealing with him. Brandon was always good for throwing her blood pressure into dangerous territories. He more than stressed her out and that alone was enough to kill her. After passing out last night high blood pressure and a serious headache was the last thing she needed.

"Who was that?"

Lifting her head she looked into the concerned eyes of Dean. It was crazy to see how they started and where they were now. Who could've ever guessed that Dean would be standing in her hotel room checking on her? Hell must've frozen over.

"I hate to ask this of you but if I tell you can you promise me you won't tell Roman and definitely not Athena. In fact you can't tell anybody."

"Harleigha I…."

"Dean promise me. They can't know."

"Why?"

"Just trust me please." She pleaded with him.

"Fine but if whatever you're about to tell me gets out of hand then I'm going to have to say something."

"Thank you."

"Mhm. Now who was that dude?"

"He's my ex-boyfriend."

"Okay and what did he mean by this wasn't over?"

"For me to answer that question I would have to show you rather than tell you."

He just looked at her with a confused look on his face. Standing up she slowly pulled up her shirt so he could see the scars that covered her stomach. Staring at him she saw about ten emotions cross his face before the last one settled on furious.

"He did that to you?" He managed to growl out.

"Yeah."

She didn't show him all of them and she was glad she didn't because just from how he was from the ones on her stomach he was bound to storm out of her room and go find Brandon.

"How did he find you?"

"I don't know Dean I really don't."

She felt herself on the brink of a serious meltdown and she was trying so hard to keep herself together.

"Okay what I want you to do is when you all get home is get a restraining order for all of you. He lives in New York right?"

"I don't…I don't really know. I haven't seen him in years."

"Okay well regardless get that restraining order and right now we're all going to take you to the airport."

"Dean you don't have to go out of your way."

"We'll be fine. The last thing I want is some jackass putting his hands on any of you."

"Dean but…"

"No arguments. Get your shit and let's go. Your sisters are waiting for you anyway."

"I don't have much of a choice do I?"

"Nope." He said with a smile on his face and his dimples popped out.

Shaking her head she went around the room and grabbed all her things and messily threw them into her suitcase. Grabbing her phone off the nightstand she headed out of the room with Dean right behind her.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Stuck

 ****Sorry this one is kind of short but I felt like what I want to do next involves its own chapter. xo****

Harleigha and her sisters arrived in New York a little before noon. The whole time Harleigha was beyond restless. Leaving Roman behind at the airport was so hard. She wanted to tell him about Brandon but if she did that then both him and Dean would set off on a mission to fuck that man up. She didn't need them getting in fights or even getting arrested over Brandon. He wasn't worth it. This was going to have to be something that she had to figure out on her own. She did it before she could do it again. Granted she almost died doing so but she was stronger because of it. So if Brandon thought he could just waltz back into her life he had another thing coming.

"Lei, you ready to go see mom?" asked Athena

"Lei. Earth to Lei." Amaria said trying to get her attention.

"LEI!" Amaria and Athena both yelled.

"Huh. What?"

"I asked are you ready to go see mom?" Athena asked again.

"Yeah let's go."

Grabbing her keys from the bowl on the hallway table of her house, she headed out with Athena and Amaria behind her. They all decided to stay at her house that night just in case something happened and they had to rush back to the hospital. Hopping into the driver's seat of her silver Jeep Wrangler Athena called shot gun, so they were both waiting while Amaria locked her front door. Once Amaria was in, she sped out of her driveway and headed to the hospital. Athena told her that their lovely well-mannered brother was already there waiting for them. Since the hospital was only about twenty minutes away from her house it didn't take them long to get there. Pulling into a parking spot not too far from the entrance they all walked into the hospital and headed up to the fifth floor where their mom was. Harleigha hated hospitals for numerous reasons so despite her mother being there, this was the last place she wanted to be. Especially in her current frazzled state. Arriving at the lobby, they saw their brother sitting in the corner. A lot had changed since she last saw him. He looked like he now stood well over 6'5, he was extremely buff, had a tattoo running down his right arm, he no longer had dreads, and his jaw was seriously chiseled with a freshly shaven beard running across his face. If she weren't looking at her brother she might actually think he was a pretty good looking black man.

"Took you guys long enough." Brian said standing up from his seat and greeting them in his own special way.

"Shut up asshole. Where's mom." Said Athena with some malice in her voice.

"Language language little sis, she's down the hall first door on the left."

"Such a dick." Amaria mumbled under her breath.

With Harleigha leading the way, they all went down the hall to their mother's room. When they got there the door was shut so she silently knocked waiting for an answer. When she didn't get one she slowly opened the door. Walking in, Harleigha immediately wanted to break down and cry. Her mother was hooked up to a bunch of tubes, her left arm was in a cast, and her face was bruised and swollen. They both looked to be almost completely swollen shut. Looking at her, she figured that some of that would need some plastic surgery to repair. Her mother's strong majestic face was ruined by some asshole and she was going to hunt that person down to the ends of the earth to make sure they were held accountable.

"Who did this?" She choked out.

"Nobody knows. She's barely been able to get a word out but the police said they would be sending someone soon to come try and get her statement again." replied Brian

"I'll be in the hallway I can't handle this right now."

"Always running away aren't you."

Ignoring Brian's ridiculous statement Harleigha left her siblings in the room with her mom. Luckily there were some chairs not too far down the hall from her room. Sitting down, she put her head in her hands and just cried. From everything that had happened in the span of like 48 hours it became too much for her body to handle. All the worry, the pain, and the stress was taking its toll. Plus with her past coming from out of nowhere she really was losing the handle she had on her life. Getting up, she went down the hall to the front desk and asked where the restrooms and drinking fountain were. The attendant pointed her towards the entrance of that wing and to the left. As she was walking out she saw two police officers heading her way and she figured they were there to speak to her mother. Walking into the bathroom she splashed water on her face and looked in the mirror wondering how she had gotten this way. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair was in a messy bun with stray strands everywhere, but at least she still had the wherewithal to put on some decent clothes even if it was some Nike leggings and a lightweight jacket. Heading out of the bathroom, she took a nice long drink of water from the fountain that was directly outside the door. When she was done she slowly walked back towards the room collecting her thoughts so she could look somewhat reasonable going back in there. However, she didn't get that far before the wind got knocked out of her from the person that was standing not too far from her. She thought she could get away before he saw her but that was not what ended up being the case.

"Well well well. If it isn't my one and only girl."

Harleigha thought to herself that she had to be going crazy. Not twice in one day. This had to be a figment of her imagination because Brandon could not be standing in front of her with a police uniform on. How had she not noticed him when she saw the two officers walking down the hallway just a few minutes ago? This couldn't be happening to her.

"Brandon what are you doing? I mean how are you here? Ugh that's not what I meant."

"I think I understood your question. And the answer is I just got transferred from the Atlanta Police Department up to the New York office and it just so happened that your mother's case came across my desk."

"How did you end up in New Orleans then?"

"Oh imagine my utter shock when I just so happened to be watching WrestleMania last night and I just knew that was your work walking out to the ring. Let's just say I decided to make a pit stop on my way up here. I told you sweetheart you're not going to win. Not this time."

"What are you going to do? Bend the law to get me? Look Brandon I'm all done fighting. I'm not about to sit around and wait for you to pounce. Please just leave me alone."

"Now you know I can't and won't do that. In fact I got put on your protection detail for tonight. I'm sure I'll do much better than those scoundrels that brought y'all to the airport this morning."

"Wait a minute. What are you talking about protection detail?"

Brandon pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to her. It was all the correct paperwork except she hadn't signed anything of the sort but it had her signature signed in two separate places.

"What is this? I didn't sign this."

"Yes you did. I know you see your signature right there."

"Brandon you can't do this to me."

"I can and I just did. Now let me take you home."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. I can't leave my sisters here."

"You can and you will. Plus from years of knowing you I know you all own keys to each other's houses and cars. So I'm sure they'll get home just fine. Now let's go I'm sure you don't want me to arrest you and make a scene in this hospital."

"I'm not going." She stared straight in his eyes and stood her ground. She knew what this probably looked like. It couldn't end well but she knew he wasn't going to hit her in the middle of a hospital especially when she wasn't acting aggressive towards him.

"Yes you are. Now go." He grabbed her tightly around the arm and hauled her out of the hospital. She found out really fast how wrong she was about him willing to cause a scene in a public facility. Damn she really couldn't win this time. She thought he had power over her before now it was even worse. He had a badge to back up that power this time around. Looked like she was going to have to use the law right back to get him out of her life for good. Times like these she was glad to have a lawyer for a sister.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Hallelujah

 ****Graphic Content****

 ****Also credit to Alexandra Burke's rendition of Hallelujah for the title of this chapter.** xo**

Since Harleigha didn't have much of a choice but to let Brandon take her home she all but let him drag her out of the hospital. Her sisters would eventually know she left but she hoped she would be able to let them know she was okay before they went and involved more police. Sliding into the passenger seat of Brandon's car, she buckled up and looked out the window. She couldn't even be bothered to look at him or she'd throw up.

"I'm assuming I don't even have to bother telling you where I live because I'm sure you've already well acquainted yourself."

"Always so astute weren't you sweetheart?"

"Yeah sure."

As he pulled out of the hospital all she could do was pray he actually took her home instead of some secluded lot in Nowhereville to kill her. If she was going out today then at least she'd die knowing that Roman had a piece of her and always would. He now had her heart whether he knew it or not. Despite everything she knew in her core that they were meant to be together. So if today was her last day then she would always be with him in spirit and in his heart. All she could do was just stare out of the window as people continued to live their lives and she wondered if hers was about to end.

"Are you going to kill me?" She blurted out before she could stop herself.

All Brandon did was turn and laugh at her.

"Do you really think I would do that? Especially with you getting back in town and all. I'm sure your little boy toy bloodhound back at the hotel would figure out what happened the moment this got out. So no you're safe for now."

She hadn't realized that they had arrived at her house until she heard the car shut off and Brandon was opening his door. Shaking her head she grabbed her keys before getting out the car. She had a pair of brass knucks on her keychain so she put them on just in case Brandon decided to act a little uncop-like. Walking up the driveway she felt him behind her. It was her best guess that he was just salivating at the sight of her. He was probably thinking of all the things he could do to her without anybody knowing. One thing that he still held over her was her need to protect her family from this life. She knew that he knew if he did anything to her that she would do everything in her power to keep it hidden from her sisters.

"Plan on coming in or no?" She asked with her back to him. If he was bluffing and still planned to kill her she might as well make it easy for him. He was a coward to the core.

"No. I'll just be out here all night imagining you naked under those thick covers with probably four pillows on your bed. Your mind was something I could never have but it looks like I've got some control of it now. You're falling apart and that means you'll run right back to me just to make it stop. So sweet dreams my love."

She felt him come up behind her and lean his body into hers. She could feel his semi hard dick poking into her backside as his hands slid forward and went under her shirt. He was running his hand over the scars that came at his doing. Kissing her neck he growled in her ear before pulling away and walking back to his car. With shaky hands she managed to get into her house and run to the bathroom before puking all over her house. When she was done all but throwing up a lung she took her clothes off and stepped into the shower. She needed to wash away all the filth that came with the touch of that no good bastard. If she had any control left in her body no other man was allowed to touch her in that way but Roman. When she was done with her hot shower she went looking for some sweatpants and a hoodie. She didn't want to give Brandon the satisfaction of imagining her naked in her bed. Once she found some clean ones, she sent Amaria a text telling her the condensed truth about how she got home and that her car was still at the hospital. Once she was satisfyingly convinced that Amaria believed her she double checked her front door before heading to her bedroom and crashing onto her bed. Once she was comfortable in her bed with yes her four pillows she finally let her body relax and the stress leave. However, she wasn't prepared for what movie her brain decided to play behind her eyes and she didn't have to power to open her eyes to stop it.

 _21, young and dumb. Oh what a time to be alive. Smiling up she looked into the intense green eyes of the love of her life. She and Brandon had made it to their two year anniversary. She'd never met a man as sweet and amazing as Brandon. He gave her everything she wanted and more without even having to ask. How did she manage to snatch a man like this? He was more than she rightfully deserved._

 _They were sitting in a restaurant, however that day felt a little different than others. Yeah he'd taken her to nice restaurants before she was use to that but she couldn't quite place why it felt so different that day. She felt that he was different too. Hopefully, he wasn't planning on breaking up with her in this upscale restaurant. Well he soon quieted her suspicions when he winked at her and placed a black box in front of her._

" _What's this Brandon?" She asked with a smile on her face._

" _Something for my special little angel. Open it beautiful."_

 _Picking up the box she opened it to find a huge diamond ring in it. She didn't know what to say. The ring was absolutely beautiful and she'd never owned something that expensive in her life._

" _Brandon is this what I think it is?"_

" _Yes it is. Harleigha my sweet will you do me the honor of being my wife?"_

" _No."_

" _Excuse me what? I love you Harleigha and I know you feel the same way about me. So what's the problem?"_

" _You're right I do love you with all my heart. I really do. It's just we're young. I just turned 21 and I'm still in school. I'm just not ready for that type of commitment right now Brandon. I can't. The ring is beautiful and maybe one day I'll do you the honor of wearing it but that day isn't going to be today."_

" _Harleigha, we don't have to get married right now. I just want everybody to know that you're officially off the market."_

" _I'm sure people figured that out a long time ago. I don't need a ring for people to know I'm yours."_

" _Fine. Whatever."_

" _Brandon please don't be mad with me." She pleaded._

" _I'm not mad. Let's just go home."_

" _But we haven't eaten yet."_

" _I really don't give a shit about food right now. Let's get the fuck out of here."_

 _In that moment his whole demeanor changed. She'd never seen him that mad before and it somewhat scared her. This was all her fault but she stood by her decision and she hoped that when he calmed down he'd be willing to accept her answer for now._

 _Fast forward 2 more years about 19 scars later and no way out Harleigha was still with Brandon. However, from the day he proposed everything had changed. He wasn't able to accept her decision like she thought he would. No after that he made it his mission to own her. As many times as she tried to find a way out she couldn't. No matter how many times he left her with bruises everywhere, there was no possible way to get away from him. Every time she tried he hit her more and fucked her a little harder. She was currently hiding in her closet trying to get away from him. He was mad about something she did almost two months ago that he didn't bother to bring up when it happened. Brandon had a thing for holding things in and exploding whenever he deemed it was the right time. She thought he had calmed down until she was being ripped out of her hiding spot in the closet and being dragged around the house by her long black hair. He stopped in the kitchen and she knew what happened next. Trying to scurry away once he went looking for his weapon of choice she tried to sneak out of the back door that was connected to her kitchen. Once again, she failed to escape before he was picking her up and throwing her against a wall._

" _Where do you think you're going bitch?"_

 _She didn't answer him. Years of being smacked around she knew that whether or not she gave him an answer he was going to do what he wanted anyway._

" _I asked you a mothafucking question Harleigha. Where the fuck do you think you're going?"_

 _Once again she refused to answer him and just like it had happened many times before he punched her straight in her jaw. Her whole face turned from the impact and she think she might've broken a tooth or two. Spitting out a mouthful of blood she turned and looked at him. Staring him in his face she felt an overwhelming urge to fight back. That was something that she'd never felt before. It was only God's guess how she got that urge but she was going to use it for as long as she had it. If she wasn't going to walk out of that house alive then she was damn sure going to go out fighting. Using all the strength she had in her right arm she punched him right back. She knew he wasn't expecting that so she used his stunned state to run and get a weapon of her own. The first thing she grabbed was the metal bat that she kept by the backdoor. She'd been on the receiving end of many beatings with that bat but not that day._

" _Oh now you want to fight back? After how many times?"_

" _2 years, 55 beatings, 19 stab wounds and 20 black eyes to be exact. I've had enough of your shit and I'm not having it anymore. I don't care if I die at your hands but I'm not going out like your bitch. Sorry it's not happening like that today."_

" _Well then let me give you one more stab wound to make it an even 20."_

" _You can try you greedy bastard."_

 _Next thing she knew he grabbed an empty glass from the kitchen counter and threw it at her. Some of it missed but it was enough to stun her. While she was trying to shake the glass off he ran at her full speed knocking her off her feet and her bat went flying. He straddled her hips and put his hands around her neck. Struggling to breathe and grab the bat at the same time all she could do was flail at the air. Looking into his eyes she knew that was the last sight that she'd see. He had such a sinister look on his face while he was squeezing the life from her body. From behind her fading vision she saw him reach up with his right hand to grab something from the counter above him. When his hand resurfaced she noticed a very huge knife. He used that to rip open her shirt bearing her bra covered chest. Next he undid the latch in the front of her bra exposing her breasts. He traced the cold steel knife from her belly button, up her stomach, over her breasts, up to her collarbone, and back down before settling about an inch away from her heart._

" _If you're going to do it, then do it you sick twisted no good inbred bastard." She managed to choke out._

 _Next thing she knew she saw his arm slowly raise before….._

"AAAHHHH NOOOOO AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Harleigha woke up screaming and struggling to get the covers off her. She frantically felt across her body to make sure she wasn't bleeding. In the process of trying to get a grasp on her surroundings her sisters burst into her room.

"Lei, Lei hey Lei. Sis are you okay?" asked Athena

She just looked into the concerned eyes of her sisters before getting out of her bed and destroying her room. It was all too much, her life had imploded and she couldn't take it anymore. Grabbing the lamp off the nightstand, she ripped the cord clean from the wall and threw it against her closet door. Then she tossed the covers off her bed, threw her shoes, clothes, emptied drawers onto the floor, and kicked a hole into her bedroom door. All the while her sisters looked on in pure terror. When she was done she collapsed on the floor in a fit of silent tears. This episode was something that couldn't be stopped. It was on the horizon and she knew deep down there was nothing she could've done.

"Call Roman." Was all she said to her sisters. She didn't know which one did the calling and she didn't care as long as she heard his voice. When there was a phone being placed into her hand she grabbed it without even bothering to see who handed it to her.

" _Hello."_

"Roman."

" _Yes baby girl what's wrong."_

"I don't know. I just need you. I need to hear your voice or something. **"**

" _I'm here baby. I'm not going anywhere."_

"You promise?"

" _I'm not leaving unless you want me too. Okay?"_

"Okay. Can you just stay on the phone until I fall asleep please? I know it's a weird request but I need this right now."

" _Whatever you need I'm here. Are you okay?"_

"I will be in due time. I will be."

Grabbing a pillow from her now destroyed bed, she placed it on Athena's knees who was sitting next to her on the floor. Stretching out, she laid her head down while her sister just played in her hair. Amaria came into the room and shut the door behind her as she handed her a glass of water. Together they sat in silence with Roman on the phone. This was the peace she had been looking for after what seemed like forever. Family was something she held near and dear to her heart so having them with her in her time of turmoil she knew that with them by her side they could deal with the now cop problem that was currently sitting outside of her house. Her life with him was something she couldn't hide anymore if she wanted their help. So sooner rather than later she was going to explain it all to them. She just hoped they'd stick around after she kept this secret from them for at least five going on six years.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: And I Am Telling You…

 ****I own none of the lyrics in this chapter. Also credit to Jennifer Hudson as well as Jennifer Holliday for the lyrics and the title of this chapter. Credit goes to anybody involved in making that song. Side note as well if you listen to that song while reading this chapter hopefully it can bring you the emotions that I had writing it. xo***

"Get up we're going out."

Harleigha looked up from her book at Amaria who had just barged into her room. She ignored her statement and went back to reading her book. Reading was something she use to do quite often but she hadn't had much time to do so recently. So she really didn't have any intention of putting it down to go out. Even if this was her lifeline from having to interact with people. Although, she promised herself that she would tell her family what had happened to her, she still hadn't brought herself to do so. It had been over a month since her mental breakdown. She was running out of excuses to stay holed up in her room.

"Amaria you hate going out."

"I know but I'm sick of seeing you mope around all day and so is Athena. I need my twin back. Did you forget that I feel your pain too? So get up. You've got thirty minutes or we're dragging you out of that bed."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Don't tell me, then I ain't going. Y'all are free to go out but I'm not."

"Harleigha, what's the matter with you? Ever since THAT day you've shut yourself out from not only us but the whole world. Someone is always asking about you and we're running out of things to say."

"You know what let's go."

"Lei…"

"I'll go out if it stops you from asking me questions." Harleigha said cutting off Amaria from asking more questions.

She just stared at Amaria daring her to ask another question. There was clearly a question on the tip of her tongue but she thought better of asking it. So Amaria turned around and left shutting the door behind her. Harleigha knew she was hard on her but those types of questions that Amaria wanted answers to she didn't have. Well that was wrong she had the answers she just couldn't bring herself to say them. She knew the moment that she did everybody would look at her differently. Most likely with pity in their eyes and she refused to have that happen.

Twenty minutes later, Harleigha was dressed in black skinny jeans with suspenders, a plain white t-shirt, black cardigan, and some white Timbs. She also threw on her favorite pair of nerd glasses and some hoop earrings. Her hair was down in a messy fishtail braid to the left and she threw on a little eyeliner to finish off her look. Not that she was going to admit it to her sisters but it felt good to not walk around like a bum as much as she really wanted to be back in bed. She could've easily thrown on a pair of her various leggings with a random shirt but she didn't want to hear the ongoing complaints that she would inevitably endure.

"DAAMMMNNN! My sis is looking good. Where's Roman when you need him because he might have to come fend off some people tonight honey."

"Shut up Athena and let's go." Harleigha replied with a light tone to her voice.

Since she didn't know where they were going, Amaria decided to drive. With Athena in the passenger seat and Harleigha in the back of Amaria's tan Chevy Tahoe, they sped off into the evening. Wherever they were going it took forever. Looking outside her window she saw that they were way outside the city limits. It's like they were going on forever with no destination in sight. That was until she noticed a very familiar side street that led to little tiny bars. When the realization of where they were headed hit her she wanted to strangle her sisters.

"Turn this mothafuckin car around now." She said in a menacing voice.

She knew her sisters heard her but they ignored her which pissed her off even more. Where they were going was literally the last place on Earth she wanted to be. She'd rather be burning at the equator.

When the car finally came to a stop she didn't move, even when the backdoor opened and her sisters just looked at her. She was very aware she was acting like a petulant child but this was the greatest form of torture she ever experienced. Having Roman lie to her was better than this.

"Come on Harleigha Monroe Danielle…"

Before Athena could even finish saying her full government name she was out of that SUV and headed into the bar at the speed of light. Athena knew the right thing to get her going. She absolutely hated her full name and to stop people from saying it she'd do anything.

"That was foul you know that right?"

"It got you out the car didn't it?" Athena laughed

All she did was roll her eyes back at her as she held the door open for them. Walking into the well-known but hidden karaoke bar, Harleigha felt her stomach start to do weird things. The last time she had been in there was at least five or six years ago and she had still been with Brandon. They had a great time that night but she also remembered that was the last time she ever sang anything. Humming and singing around the house was something she always did. She use to sing her sisters to sleep when they were all younger. That was a thing of the past now that she really didn't care to remember. It was also a time when she last remembered being truly happy. Oh how things had changed drastically and dramatically.

Following her sisters to a table in the far back, she looked at the person who was clearly wasted trying to sing Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." It was truly horrendous but hey that's what people came to karaoke bars for right? As Harleigha went to sit down both her sisters went to the side of the stage to speak to someone. She couldn't see who and she really didn't care. She just wanted something to drink and some damn food. When they finally got back it didn't take long for them to get some food. Harleigha settled for a huge basket of fries which she drenched in that good ass Heinz ketchup. She hadn't realized how hungry she really was until that first fry hit her stomach. Damn had she really been moping around that long that she even forgot to eat? Oh well didn't matter because those fries were hitting the spot and filling her up. It felt good to sit around and laugh with her sisters. They told her some stories of what Dean and Seth had been up too. As usual they were driving Roman insane. All she could do was laugh at that because she could just see his face trying to reign those two idiots in.

"So from what I hear we have a special someone here tonight. Someone who use to be a friend to this little hole in the wall bar. Someone who I swear I haven't seen in here in years. However, her sisters manage to drop in every blue moon. Harleigha where you at girl?"

A spotlight was shown on her just as she was about to eat another fry. What the hell is going on was all she could think. She looked to her sisters who were looking very suspicious. Right then she knew they roped her into something but she didn't know what. However, her silent questions were answered when she heard the intro to "And I Am Telling You."

"Oh hell no. Nope not today not ever. NOPE!"

Her adamant response to this situation was clearly being ignored by her sisters because they were both dragging her to the stage. When she stumbled onto the stage she turned to run when a hand grabbed her and turned around. As her eyes adjusted she saw that it was actually someone she went to high school with. Actually it was her best friend from when she use to do plays way back in the day. Ironically, the song playing was the very last play she did. Doing this song seemed like light years ago, so much so she didn't even think she had it in her to sing it without butchering it. Well that and she felt sick to her stomach.

"Come on sis do this like I know you can." yelled Athena

She was going to kill Athena for doing this, she thought to herself.

Her best friend Jake put the microphone into the stand and slid it towards her before walking off towards the side. He winked at her with a smile on his face. She knew that look. It was the one he always gave her before she would sing this song. It was a hard song to do and give it justice. But when he gave her that look she knew she had the confidence to belt it out and give the whole world chills while doing it. So she took a deep breath as she waited for the background music to start playing.

" _And I am telling you._

 _I'm not going._

 _You're the best man I've ever known._

 _There's no way I can ever go._

 _No no there's no way_

 _No no no no way I'm living without you._

 _I'm not living without you._

 _I don't want to be free._

 _I'm stayin', I'm stayin'._

 _And you_

 _And you_

 _You're gonna love me…"_

She started the song out extremely timidly. At one point she thought nobody could even hear her. Then she got this overwhelming sense of contentment that she could do this. As she continued the song she felt that it was speaking to her. Right down to her marrow. Her sisters knew what this song did to her and she was becoming somewhat grateful of that fact. Looking at her sisters, who were sitting there beaming with pride she continued the song in the only way she knew how.

" _And I am telling you I'm not going_

 _Even though the rough times are showing_

 _There's just no way there's no way._

 _We're part of the same place._

 _We're part of the same time._

 _We both share the same blood._

 _We both have the same mind…_

 _I'm not wakin' up tomorrow mornin' and findin' that there's nobody there._

 _Darling there's no way_

 _No no no no way I'm living without you_

 _I'm not livin' without you_

 _You see there's just no way there's no way…_

 _Tear down the mountain_

 _Yell scream and shout_

 _You can say what you want I'm not walkin' out_

 _Stop all the rivers_

 _Push strike and kill._

 _I'm not gonna leave you. There's no way I will…"_

As she came to the last huge notes of the song she realized that everybody was on their feet clapping for her. Singing that song she forgot how lost she use to get in the feelings that song would bring out of her. It was such a powerful one and she loved it. It felt like a whole weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She didn't realize how relevant that song was to her current situation until she finished that very last infamous note. Blinking back tears she didn't know she was shedding she walked off the stage.

"Still got those pipes fam." Jake said in her ear so she could hear him over all the noise.

"I guess so."

He hugged her before hopping back on the stage. She had no clue what he said because she was still in her head. Walking back her table she noticed it had gotten much bigger. Squinting she saw that Dean and Seth had joined them. Athena or Amaria must've known they were in town and forced them to come too. Those poor boys were whipped.

"Damn girl I ain't know you could sing." Dean said.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." She shot back.

Just as he was about to say something else a shadow came over the table. Harleigha felt her body reacting to them and she immediately knew who it was. Turning around, she stared straight into those sensual and distracting grey eyes. So much was running through her mind looking at him until it settled on that one word. Sex.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Revelations

 ****This one is a pretty long winded chapter. I had a lot that needed to be set up that wouldn't have stood alone in their own chapters. It changes POVs I hope it doesn't confuse y'all. Enjoy! xo****

Clearing her mind, Harleigha tried to stop thinking of what she wanted Roman to do to her. She didn't realize how much she missed him until he was standing right in front of her. Her body was craving him and by looking into his eyes she could tell that he knew that. Unfortunately, there was something more pressing to take of than having him inside her.

"Hi." She said sheepishly.

"Hey sweetheart."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I'm all yours." He replied with a smirk on his face.

She knew he meant that in more ways than one. Oh how she wished she could take him up on his insinuated offer. Shaking her head at him, she left everybody else at the table and walked outside where she waited for Roman.

"Can I have a hug?" He whispered into her ear from behind her. His voice sent some serious shivers down her spine and it wasn't even cold outside. Turning around she embraced him. Feeling his strong body around hers was something she sorely needed and desperately missed. Feeling him bend down towards her neck he knew what he was aiming for. So she leaned her head to the side so he could get at her neck. He once told her in passing that her pulse was the strongest there and he liked to feel it against his lips. He liked knowing that he could make her pulse become unbalanced with just one touch.

"Roman as much as I um…..as much as I ummm…." She was losing her ability to speak. Damn this man.

"What? As much as you what?"

She felt him smile against her neck. He knew exactly what he was doing to her and he was relishing in it. She hated him sometimes she really did.

"You know I'm struggling to speak right now?"

"I know. I just missed messing with you."

Standing up straight he grabbed her chin and bent down to kiss her. It wasn't a deep one but it was one that still made her weak at the knees. She really needed to talk to him but he was being very distracting at the moment. If she didn't pull herself together she'd lose all strength she had in having the conversation that was still lingering over her.

"Okay okay down big dawg. I really need to talk to you."

"I know but can I say something first?"

"If it's an apology I don't want to hear it because I forgave you the moment you walked out the door."

"Well an apology was one thing on the list. But more importantly I really want to know what is going on with you. I heard bits and pieces from Dean but nobody really told me anything. Are you okay?"

She looked down at her shoes. This was not how she expected this conversation to start. She hadn't really realized that she put everybody in a tight spot worrying about her this past month. That was selfish. In fact she had been selfish ever since she started dating Brandon. She shut her whole family out and that wasn't right. However, Brandon didn't know much about her family and despite how everything ended that was a blessing. Except now she had to come clean. It had been long enough. It was now or never.

"You know what? I'll be right back. The answer to your question is something that you all need to hear. Dean and Seth included."

Roman gave her a confused look. "What's wrong Harleigha?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Stay right here I'll be back."

Leaving Roman standing outside the hole in the wall karaoke bar she walked back in and told her sisters, Dean and Seth that she'd pay the tab and to meet her outside. They all gave her the same look Roman did but listened anyway. As they headed out the door she slid the bartender a hundred and told him to keep the change. When she walked outside everybody was waiting for her.

"Lei, what's going on?" asked Athena

She ignored her and asked Amaria for the keys because she was going to be driving them back home. Tossing them too her, Athena and Amaria followed her to the SUV while Roman went with Seth and Dean in their car.

* * *

Roman with Dean and Seth behind him went a few cars down where their rental car was. When he got in he didn't immediately pull off. He knew that Harleigha wasn't going to leave the parking lot without him behind her.

"I'm going to drop you two off. I have something I need to do."

"Roman what's up?" asked Seth

"Nothing. It's something I need to do. Something I should've done a long damn time ago."

Neither Dean nor Seth inquired much after that but he saw them exchange a look. Much like Harleigha he would have an answer for them all soon enough.

Backing the car up he waited for Harleigha to drive off before following behind her. She was hard to keep up with at times because his girl was a damn speed demon. She sped through some lights that he almost missed. He couldn't tell if this was her regular driving or was it because she had a lot of built up tension. Either way that woman was a psycho driver. Even Dean was sitting in the passenger seat hanging on for dear life. When they arrived back at Harleigha's house about thirty minutes later they all took a deep breath.

"Roman I'm sorry but your girl has some serious driving issues."

"Yeah I know Dean I know." He laughed.

"What you want us to tell her?" asked Seth

Roman knew Seth wasn't talking about her driving.

"Tell her I went to get something from the store and I'll be right back."

"You sure she will fall for that?"

"Seth at this point it will have to do. If it doesn't work then Dean can pull the asshole card that'll shut her up from asking questions."

"Whatever you need to do I hope it's worth it."

"It is little brother. It is."

Waiting for everybody to get into the house, he went down the street to turn around before speeding off again into the night. He wasn't aware of the car that was stalking his girl's house when he left.

* * *

Harleigha turned on her porch light before locking the door after everybody was in. She didn't want Roman to trip up her steps when he got back. Walking into her living room, she looked at everybody with a smile on her face. Her sisters looked happy with their respective partners. She could see the admiration they had for each other and it was cute. She wondered if that's how they saw her when she was with Roman.

"So twin what was the big hurry in getting us back here?"

Her twin sister Amaria was sitting on the floor in between Seth's legs who was sitting on the couch. Her head was leaning against his skinny jean covered legs and she looked so happy. Athena on the other hand was sitting in Dean's lap in the recliner. Harleigha really hoped that neither of them had to endure what she did.

"It's something that I should've told both you and Athena years ago."

"Does it have to do with the car that's been sitting across the street ever since we got back into town?" asked Athena

Harleigha noticed Dean's expression go dark behind Athena's head.

"What car?" asked Amaria

"There's been a blue sedan sitting and watching our house ever since we got back in town. I figured we got new neighbors but it would always be here the same time every day. Even when I would wake up early to go for a run it would still be there." Athena explained.

"Well why didn't you call the police?"

Before Athena could answer Amaria's question, Harleigha did.

"Because he's here for me."

"What do you mean he's here for you twin?"

"It's my ex-boyfriend and he's a cop."

"Your ex as in THE ex-boyfriend. Does his name happen to be Brandon?" asked Amaria

"Yeah how'd you know?"

Harleigha didn't like where this is going.

"Look I know you didn't tell us much about him and I know we never met him but I think I ran into him once while you were working."

"What do you mean met him?" Harleigha asked in a voice that was becoming increasingly menacing.

"It was right around the time you started your new job. School was getting really stressful so I decided to go for a drink. This dude kept coming up to me and I ignored him for a while until I finally got fed up. He was acting like I was supposed to know him and when I kept saying my name was Amaria he thought I was playing a game with him."

"Shit Ri, he thought I was you. I never told him I had a twin sister."

"I gathered that. Thanks for that one sis. Anyway, as I was walking out the bar he tried to grab me but a random guy stopped him before anything happened."

"Wait a minute. Back up. He put his hands on you?"

"He tried too but…"

"Hold that thought."

"What are you about to do?" asked Athena

"Avenge my twin sister."

"Dean if you want to see that crazy side of my sister that you thought didn't exist, here's your wish coming true. Don't mess with us or she will leave you one step away from castrated." said Athena

Walking out of her living room, Harleigha grabbed her steel bat that she kept in a small closet behind her front door. Walking outside, she stormed across the street to where that blue sedan sat. She tapped on the window with the bat and waited for Brandon to wake up. When he finally did she saw a quick look of fear cross his face before he dawned that oh so predictable snake-esque smirk.

"Get out of the car. NOW!"

She backed away slowly giving him enough room to get out. When he did he leaned back against the car with his hands in the air.

"You made a huge mistake."

"How exactly did I do that?" Brandon asked

"Destroying my life is one thing but messing with my sister made this a whole different ball game."

"Sister?" Brandon looked legitimately confused.

"I've got two just for future references. I guess your cop skills are lacking because the way you stalk me you should've known that."

"You plan on doing something with that bat sweetheart?"

"Yeah you make one more move I'll shove it down your fuckin' throat."

"Mmmm talking like that you might just start turning me on."

"Shut up and listen to me. You made the mistake of messing with my twin sister thinking it was me. Yeah I said twin. That girl that you saw at a bar that you tried to attack thinking it was me. Wrong. That was my damn twin sister. So I'm here to tell you. If you ever come near me or my family again it will be the last thing you do."

"Threatening a cop. I can have you arrested for that."

"Nice. You think you have some leverage because of that badge. You'd be sorely mistaken."

"What? Are those knuckleheads behind you going to do something about it? Or that guy that drove off after you got home. Hm? They don't stand a chance again me."

"Brandon you just don't get it. It's not about them beating you it's about me beating you."

"And how do you suppose you can do that?"

"The system. Now get the hell back in your car and get out of my damn neighborhood. I see you near anyone of us again, if you so much as breathe in our direction I will be seeing you in the last place you want to be. Now go."

She leaned the bat into his throat daring him to do anything. When she saw him reaching for his car door, she stepped back a little and let him get in his car.

* * *

Roman was just pulling into Harleigha's street when he saw everybody outside. As he got a little closer he saw Harleigha with a bat to a man's throat. Right then he knew something was seriously wrong. Parking the car about three houses down he got out and walked towards her just as the man got into his car and drove off. The man stared at him as he drove by and Roman got an interesting feeling that he would be seeing him again.

"Lei."

She turned on him so fast she almost whacked him in the head with her bat. Jumping back with his hands in the air, he let her realize it was him before putting the bat down.

"Sorry, you startled me."

"I see that. Why is everybody outside and who was that driving away?"

"I'll explain when we all get back in the house."

"Wait before you do that I need to show you something."

Looking at everybody else she nodded at them to head back inside while she waited with Roman. He walked up the steps with her and stood under her porch light. Reaching inside his back pocket he handed her a manila envelope.

"What's this?"

"Open it. Please."

Placing the bat between her legs so she could use both hands, he noticed her hands were shaking. He was nervous for her reaction but he knew that those papers were the only way he could explain his situation. A few weeks ago, when he found out they'd be doing a show in New York he called a friend of his who was a friend of the government. He knew Harleigha was the type that needed proof to believe anything that came out of someone's mouth. Actions spoke louder than words with her.

"Roman these are divorce papers from 2008."

"I know. A friend of them got a copy of them for me and sent them up here. That's where I went after I dropped Dean and Seth off."

"Why are you giving them to me?"

"Look at the names."

"It says yours and…..Makayla's."

"Yeah. Now look at the papers behind those."

He watched as she flipped the papers and landed on the one that almost made her drop the stack.

"This is a petition for full custody of your daughter. So what? What's wrong with you wanting full custody?"

"I didn't ask for that. She did."

"Wait why?"

"Because she's been holding those over my head ever since I asked for a divorce. If I take her to court over this she'll ask for full custody of Samaria. I can't lose her. She's my pride and joy Harleigha. I need you to understand that. My baby girl is everything to me and I'll be damned if Makayla plays the system and wins."

Roman looked at Harleigha who had a smile on her face. It confused him because that was the last thing he expected to see.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because you are lucky enough to be dating the right person."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on babe. Let's go inside. I'll explain later."

Harleigha really did confuse him sometimes. Just when he thought he had all the answers, she changed the questions. Damn he loved her.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Worth It

 ****Shoutout to Fifth Harmony for the title of this chapter.****

Walking back into her house with Roman right behind her, Harleigha had a lot on her mind. However, she had to deal with one thing at a time. Her first priority was explaining a part of her life that she vowed to keep buried. However, her past was catching up to her and she had to get in front of this before she lost the war before it even started.

Locking up the door behind her, she walked back into her living room where everybody was seated in the same spots in addition to Roman who sat on the opposite end of her large couch from Seth. They all looked at her with concerned eyes. She wanted to tell everybody to get out so she could hole herself back up in her room. Her heart was starting to beat really fast, her hands were sweating and her knees got really weak. Walking over her window, she stared out into the dark street trying to collect her thoughts. This was going to be super hard. Way harder than she ever expected it to be.

"Sis you okay?" asked Athena

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Not really Athena. Not really."

Not turning around from her spot by the window she felt her sister come up behind her. Athena put an arm around her and just stood at the window with her. A few minutes later Amaria joined them on her other side. Having her sisters standing next to her and they had no clue what she was about to tell them was a blessing. She didn't think she could get through this without them.

"Whenever you're ready we're here. We ain't going anywhere sis. Together until the end." said Amaria

Clearing her throat she wiped the tears that she hadn't noticed she shed.

"Okay. What I'm about to tell you is a long winded and emotional story that needs to be told. My past is catching up to me and I don't know if I can hold this in any longer. I fear if I do someone might get hurt and I'll be damned if that happens. Amaria. Athena. You two deserved this years ago I just didn't want you to know that I'm not the person that you think I am. I am broken. I am bruised. I am battered. I am a shell of my former self."

Her sisters looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. She could tell they didn't understand what she was telling them. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a bar stool and placed it in front of everybody. They gave her their undivided attention.

"I'm confused."

"I know Amaria and I'm about to shed some light on it."

Rubbing her hands against her legs, the words she thought she'd never speak out loud spilled from her lips.

"So you know my ex Brandon right?"

"Yeah." Her sisters replied tentatively.

"You know the reason why you never met him?"

"Not really but I can take a shot in the dark guess." Said Athena

"What do you think?"

"Love makes people do crazy things?"

Athena shrugged while asking this.

"Ha. Close enough but not quite."

"Then what?" Roman asked softly.

She turned to him and he had the look of pure terror on his face. That mixed with the slight anger she saw in his eyes made him look absolutely ruthless. Her confession was going to make him go all wild Samoan in a minute. Thank goodness Seth and Dean were there because she had a feeling she'd be needing them. But then again Dean knew some shit and the way he reacted when he found about it at the hotel scared her too. Holy shit she was about to stir up a melting pot of emotions. This could potentially be disastrous but she trudged forward anyway.

"Yeah Harleigha. Why? And why are you telling us now?" Amaria asked in a sort of lost tone.

"Well like I said my past is catching up to me. Brandon came by hotel room the morning we came back to New York. I had no idea how he even knew where I was but if it wasn't for Dean I'm sure things would have gone very differently that morning."

"Wait a minute. Dean you knew about this?"

"Wait Roman before you jump down his throat I made him swear not to tell anybody."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted it to be me. Anyway, Brandon use to abuse me. Every single day for two years straight. I didn't bring him around because I didn't want to subject you all to that kind of negativity. I also didn't want you to get attached to him. He was, no he is a very dangerous person and I've almost lost my life on several occasions being on the business end of his hands and a few knives here and there."

The whole room took a collective gasp at that last part.

"Harleigha, what exactly do you mean a few knives here and there." Asked Athena in a very low grumble.

"A few as in twenty."

"TWENTY! ARE YOU SHITTING ME!? LET ME SEE!" Yelled Athena who had now leaped out of her spot on Dean's lap.

"Wait Athena before she does that, why did he abuse you?" asked Amaria

"Well the beginning reason was because I wouldn't marry him. After that I have no clue probably for shits and giggles."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Roman go completely rigid when she mentioned marriage. He could honestly combust at any moment the more she kept going. She could see him trembling slightly and his hands were now in fists.

"Lei, show them too me."

Athena was now standing next to her. She looked her in her eyes. Some of these scars were in some personal spots but she knew that Athena wouldn't stop asking until she had proof. Standing up she unhooked her suspenders so she could pull her shirt up. Turning around, she started with the ones on her lower back. From her peripheral vision she saw Seth and Athena get up to look at her back. To keep from breaking down she stared straight into Roman's blazing grey eyes. Considering his current state that might not have been the best idea but it was all she had. He had become her rock and until he shattered into a million pieces he was all she had left to keep going.

Feeling her sisters soft hands running over her scars made her shiver. She had no idea what their reaction would be to the ones on her front.

"Harleigha, that's only six." Amaria stated

Without saying a word she lifted her shirt over her head revealing the ones on her shoulder blades. She could see Roman staring at the one closest to her heart. She could only imagine what he was thinking and she honestly didn't really want to know. Turning around so her sisters could see the rest of her scars she held her breath. She was waiting for their reaction to her near death blow scar. Staring at them she watched their eyes travel across her toned stomach and stop at the very last one.

"Athena why is that so close to your heart?" asked Athena

"Because the day I got that was the day I finally decided to fight back. However, my efforts were futile. He eventually straddled me and choked me out before he trailed the knife up my stomach and slammed it straight into my chest. Still to this day I have no earthly clue how I got to the hospital but the doctors say when I got there the knife was still lodged in my chest. It was about a six inch blade kitchen knife. Had it been two more inches to the left I'd be dead."

"How come you never told us about this? I just don't understand why you went through this by yourself. We're your sisters we would've been there for you." Said Amaria

"I know twin. I know that now more than ever. It's just it was a dark part in my life that you didn't need to see. You two are so pure that I couldn't put this on you. Dean. Seth. Listen to me when I say I want you two to treat my sisters with the respect they deserve. You've seen what abuse can to do a woman. Let me be a walking example. If you ever feel like you need to hit them walk the hell away. Because I swear to God one time is all it will take for me to be down your throat."

"You have my word Harleigha and I'm sorry that you ever had to experience this. Even if you don't see it you're a very strong woman and I appreciate and respect the way you protect your sisters. Now let me take some of that off your hands. I swear I will protect Amaria with my life and her problems are now mine. Hand over heart I make this promise to you today." Said Seth

She looked him dead in his sweet chocolate eyes looking for any sign that she shouldn't trust him. Instead she found genuine sincerity in them and she nodded at him that she held him at his word. Turning to Dean he just looked at her nonchalantly. She didn't expect anything less and that made her want to laugh.

"You've already seen what I'll do for the people I want to protect." Was all Dean said. It wasn't much but she'd take it because she knew just exactly how ruthless he could be when he wanted to be.

"I've got one more question."

"What's that Ri?"

"Is that why Brian left? Did he know?"

"Ri as much as I'd love for that to be the reason I really don't have an answer for that."

"Well I think I can clear some things up." Came a male voice from behind her.

Turning around on her bar stool she came face to face with her brother Brian.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Out in the Open

 ****Mature Content****

 ****Happy New Year to you all. Thank you again for keeping up with this story. I promise there's more stories to come throughout the year. I wish you all the best this year! xo****

Harleigha was shocked to see her brother standing in her living room. She didn't know whether to punch him or hug him. The last time she spoke to him was in the hospital over a month ago when she went to go see her mother.

"Brian what are you doing here?"

"I still have a key to your house sis and I had a bad feeling something was wrong so I headed over here."

"Why are you still in New York? I thought you'd have left by now."

"I decided to move back. I'm staying in a hotel until they can fix up my new apartment. My stuff is on its way down from Wisconsin."

"Why?"

"Because much like you I owe my family an explanation."

"Well I'm one step closer to my death bed Brian so please enlighten us on why you left us high and dry all those years ago?" Amaria asked in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush. I left because of Harleigha."

"Wait you're going to blame Lei for why you left. Wooowww, just when I thought I'd heard it all."

"Athena it's not like that."

"Well how's it like asshole?" Athena asked

"The day she got stabbed was the last time I happened to stop by and see how she was doing. When I found her almost dead on the floor I knew then I couldn't be around anymore. I'd end up in prison if I did. So I guess you could say I panicked."

"Excuse me what? Let me get this straight your sister was being abused for two years straight and you found her almost dead on the floor and your reaction was panic? What kind of brother are you?"

Roman had officially snapped. Harleigha watched as he got up from his spot on the couch and got into her brother's face. Roman didn't have much height on Brian, maybe an inch or two but regardless Brian didn't back down.

"Who are you?" Brian asked

"I'm the guy that's going to protect your sister now. You had your chance as her brother but you squandered it because you were too much of a bitch to protect her."

Before Harleigha could stop what happened next Brian punched Roman square across the jaw. It stunned Roman a bit but he was quick to recover and he tackled Brian to the ground in the blink of an eye. He was on top of him laying on punches before Brian had him flipped over and they crashed into her coffee table. Dean and Seth were struggling to get them up off the floor but it was like pulling two bulls apart. Brian was not a small man and neither was Roman. Finally, after Roman had tossed Brian over the couch the fight ceased. His right eye was starting to turn black and his lip was dripping blood.

"ROMAN! Have you lost your ever loving mind?" Harleigha yelled

"Roman, what kind of whack ass name is that?" Brian mumbled from behind the couch.

"It's the name of the man who just kicked your ass or do you want to go again?"

"GUYS! GUYS! Stop just stop. I don't need this right now. Everybody out. GET OUT and Roman go to the damn kitchen and stay there."

Going to her small closet in the hallway she grabbed a washcloth for her brother and handed it to him.

"All y'all can come by in the morning and I'll make breakfast but right now all these emotions are making me shaky."

"Sis are you sure?"

"Yeah Amaria I think I can handle that Samoan hothead."

Her sister gave her a hug before heading out the door with Seth behind her. Next Dean followed with Athena. Finally, her brother walked up to her.

"He your new man?"

"Don't talk to me. Just get out of my face. I don't know what gave you the right to come up in my house after God knows how many years and think you can just go swinging at anybody who speaks to you sideways. You can explain your reason for leaving more in depth tomorrow but right now I am mentally and emotionally breaking down."

"Okay I'll give you your space but I've got just one question."

"What?"

"He treat you right?"

"Not that it's any of your business but yes he does."

"That's all I wanted to hear."

Harleigha stood in her doorway and watched as her sisters and brother drove off. This was not how she expected the night to end but she was glad her hidden past was finally out after so many years. Once everybody was gone, she shut her door, flipped on the motion sensors, and bolted up her door before going into the kitchen.

When she got there Roman was leaning over the sink trying to stop the bleeding.

"Sit down."

Getting no complaints from him he sat at her kitchen counter while she gathered some paper towels and wet them up before walking over to him and wiping at his lips. The left side was a little bit swollen making his lips slightly bigger than they already were. Standing this close to him she could see his freckles and how grey his eyes really were. She was supposed to be helping him yet she was completely mesmerized. Shaking her head, she stepped away from him and went to her freezer to grab the tray of ice. Grabbing some dry paper towels she placed the ice in it, wrapped it up, and put it in a plastic Ziploc bag.

"Put this on your eye before it gets swollen shut."

He did as he was told while still staring a hole into her face. Even with one good eye he was still making her hot and bothered. This man was fucking deadly.

"Are you mad at me?"

"I don't know."

"I didn't mean to call your brother a bitch."

"He's probably heard worse from all of us. It was nothing I wouldn't have called him myself so don't worry about it."

"I really am sorry. I made this night harder for you than it already was. I should have been mindful of that I just couldn't hold it in anymore. My nerves were shot after you finished telling your story, and his excuse for leaving you and your sisters came off as bullshit."

"Roman don't ever apologize for sticking up for me."

Roman grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into him. She felt her body get hot as his hands started rubbing up and down her body. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she let him pull her even closer. He brought his head forward and kissed over her clothed nipple before moving over to the other one. She felt her nipples get hard and her pussy was getting wet.

"I want you Harleigha."

Lifting her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked to her bedroom. Laying her on the bed he stood over her and looked at her with fierce eyes.

"Well what are you waiting for? Come get me?" She said seductively with a smirk on her face.

Daring him to come closer she rubbed her hands across her body before stopping at the top of her pants.

"Do I have to do this by myself?"

"Yes." He said in a deep voice.

She wasn't expecting that reply. Instead of showing him that she was startled she slowly unhooked her suspenders so she could get out of her jeans. Throwing them to side, she stared at him under hooded eyelids as he licked his lips waiting for her to continue. Rising slightly up off the bed she unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down before kicking them off her legs. She nearly missed Roman. She laughed slightly because even though he almost got smacked in the face by her jeans he still hadn't moved from his spot at the edge of her bed. Before sliding off her black panties, she slid a perfectly manicured finger across her slit. It sent such a chill across her that she shuddered. Just as she was about to remove her panties Roman latched onto her hands and stopped her.

"I want to do this part."

Picking up her right toned leg, he placed it on his shoulder and started kissing his way up from her calf to her thighs before stopping. Looking at him, she imagined him like Simba when he stared at Nala as he lapped at the water. She was so turned on because he looked so hungry for her. It was in his eyes and all the way down to the way his mouth twitched ever so slightly. His eyebrows were starting to become problematic too because damn they added to the intensity already written across his face. Licking his thick lips, he took his large fingers and latched them into both corners of her panties. He slowly slid them down her long legs before tossing them to the side. Then he dragged her almost to the edge of the bed. Placing his head in between her legs he winked at her before sliding his very large tongue forward. It seemingly felt like forever before the tip of his tongue barely even touched her. He was teasing her and it was killing her. Finally, his lips latched onto hers and she squirmed under him. Feeling his tongue and lips on her was like heaven. Her eyes rolled into the back of her and she arched her back as he went deeper into her. God this man's tongue alone was having her swimming in some serious ecstasy. She was barely hanging on to this so how in the hell was she going to last with his dick inside her. Dear God in heaven he was going to kill her.

"Roman." She was barely able to get his name out because just as she said it she felt herself start to get tight. There was a feeling in her stomach and she knew was about to happen next. Squirming against his tight grip he went faster and deeper inside of her as she clutched at the sheets and her toes started to curl. With one last strong suck she felt herself cum.

"Damn baby girl you taste so good."

"Mmm. I bet. Now are you gonna let me taste you?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

Tucking her feet under her, she grabbed Roman by his belt loops and pulled him forward. Thanking the heavens he didn't have on a belt, she unzipped his pants and let them fall at his feet. This man also decided he wanted to go commando so there were no draws for her to slide down. Here he was standing at full attention and the only thing between them was some damn air. Licking her lips just like he did, she smirked up at him before bending her head down and taking all of him in her mouth. He nearly reached the back of her throat but she breathed through her nose so she wouldn't choke and gag. Sucking in her cheeks she went to work on pleasing him like he pleased her. It wasn't easy because this man was huge but she knew when she found her rhythm because his hands curled into her hair and he started pulling. He was starting to twitch in her mouth and that's when she knew he was close. She laughed around his dick and the vibrations made him shudder. One extra hard suck later he unloaded in her mouth and she took every last drop.

"Damn daddy you taste good."

"Whatchu just call me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You heard me."

"Yeah I did and I want you to say it again."

"What? Daddy?"

"You use that word you might not be able to handle what comes next."

"Try me."

He tackled her onto the bed so fast that the wind was nearly knocked out of her. Before she could say anything else he was inside of her. He was so big he filled her up nice and well. Using strength she didn't even know she possessed she tore his shirt off him. He didn't seem to be phased by it because he continued to grind into her. His hair was falling out of its bun and into his face. It was so long that it was even sticking to her. Bringing him down on top of her she latched her lips onto his and kissed him as he banged her so hard the wall behind her was shaking. They soon came together and he inevitably put all his weight on her when he collapsed from exhaustion.

"I don't ever want to be without you this long again. No matter what happens we will get through it. But I can't bare not being with you like this. You're my everything Harleigha."

"Is that your way of apologizing?" She asked into his shoulder.

"Pretty much."

"Well it wasn't needed because I forgave you a long time ago."

"Thank you babe."

"You're welcome my love."

He rolled off of her and pulled her next to him. Before she got comfortable she took her now sticky shirt and bra off before getting back under the covers. That night they laid peacefully naked together and fell asleep listening to each other's steady heartbeat.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Evil Awakens

Harleigha woke up tucked into Roman's naked body. She listened to the sounds of his breathing while reminiscing over the previous night. Last night was something different entirely. Yeah there previous sexual encounters were phenomenal but last night was the first time she truly felt beautiful. She didn't hide or shy away from him. For some reason she felt confident and that surprised her. Even when she was with Brandon before everything went down she had never felt that way. Being with Roman had really changed her life. She had a feeling he didn't even realize how impactful he truly was. He was definitely a blessing. Kind of like a hidden gem.

Turning over next to him she smiled before slowly getting out of bed. Silently grabbing some clean clothes and her phone, she slipped into her bathroom that was connected to her bedroom. Before stepping into the shower, she texted her sisters and sadly her brother to let them know to stop by at noon for brunch. She also let her sisters know that Dean and Seth were more than welcome to come by as well. Putting her phone down in a drawer, she turned on the water and stepped under the hot spray. She let the warmth of the water wake her up before she washed up. When she was done, she dried off, cleaned out the shower, and put on some lotion from Bath & Body works before putting on some black Nike leggings and a black sports bra to match. Not wanting to put in her contacts she grabbed a pair off the shelf she kept in the bathroom. Lastly, she braided her hair and twisted it into a bun and brushed her teeth.

She stepped out of the steamy bathroom to Roman waking up.

"Good morning." She said

"Morning beautiful."

He was staring a hole into her body. Unconsciously, she slipped her arms across he waist. Somehow she went back to being self-conscious. Would this feeling ever stop? She usually wore her sports bra and leggings when nobody was in her house. But this happened to be the first thing she grabbed without even knowing. But if she went to change it would raise suspicion so she just had to deal with it.

"Why are you hiding? I still find you just as beautiful this morning as I did last night."

Harleigha felt her cheeks get hot.

"I don't know habit I guess."

"Until my last dying breath I will let you know that you are always beautiful."

"I did last night."

"What?"

"I felt beautiful last night."

She smiled to herself remembering how his gaze took her breath away as he had his way with her.

"Well good that means I did something right."

"You could never do anything wrong."

"Yes I could."

She noticed he said that more to himself than he did her.

"I know what you mean by that Roman and you had your reasons."

"That doesn't make it right or fair to you. I fucked up and I should've never handled it that way."

"Well it's the past now and there's no use in dwelling on it. Speaking of which, would you mind Amaria looking at those documents you gave me. I think she has a friend that works down in Florida that might be able to help."

"I don't want to be a burden to her."

"I will do anything to make sure you get to see your daughter. Let me do this please."

He waited before finally saying, "okay."

"Good now get dressed."

"For what? And with what clothes."

Instead of answering his questions she rummaged through her walk-in closet before coming out with some sweatpants and a gray t-shirt. She tossed them on the bed next to him.

"Do I want to know why you have male clothes laying around?"

"Because I don't have your clothes to wear in the morning."

"Maybe we can fix that." He said in a sneaky manner.

"Maybe." She smirked at him before leaving him in her bedroom and heading to the kitchen.

Grabbing a bunch of pots and pans she put one on the stove while she went to start making the pancake mix. Depending on how much she could get done, she planned on making some waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast and biscuits for brunch. She hadn't cooked breakfast for herself let alone her family in a long damn time. She didn't know if she still knew how to even make some decent eggs. She figured she'd start there before she did anything else. If she didn't totally screw those up then that was a plus.

Going into her refrigerator she grabbed one of her box of a dozen eggs and set them on the counter. She also got a stick of butter and the salt and pepper shakers. She started beating two eggs before dipping them in the pan and soon adding more. When she finally managed to get all twelve eggs into the large pan Roman was walking into the kitchen. She almost got distracted because even in some sweatpants and a shirt he looked delicious. She'd love to have him for breakfast.

"Maybe later."

"Did I say that out loud?"

"What? Did have something to do with having me for breakfast? Then yes yes you did say that out loud."

"Oops. Sorry." She said shyly.

"Don't apologize for your desires sweetheart." He said as he came around to her and kissed her on the neck.

"It's just…"

"Just nothing. Maybe I should start speaking my desires out loud. Maybe like how I wouldn't mind having you for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert."

He was saying all of this while nuzzling and sucking on her neck. She started to lean her head back so he had better access but then she realized she had a hot ass pan on the stove.

"Roman as much as I enjoy you being where you are right now, you're gonna have to back up son unless you had plans on getting burned."

"Nope getting burned wasn't in the books for me this morning. What can I help you with?"

"Um can you get the two packages of biscuits out of the fridge and put them in the oven. I don't have time to make homemade ones. And can you please get the waffle mix going? Thank you."

"Anything for you baby girl." He kissed her before getting to work.

For the next hour and a half Roman and Harleigha hustled and bustled around the kitchen making breakfast together. It was close to noon by the time they were finally finished and everything was cleaned and put in the dishwasher. He was putting the dishes on the table when her doorbell rang. When she got to the door, everybody but her brother were all there. She directed them to the kitchen and just as she was about shut her door, she felt herself being dragged down the steps and away from her house.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Te Amo, I Love You

 ****Sorry it took so long to get this one up. There were a lot of moving parts in my head that I had to sort out before this came to fruition. I hope you enjoy it. There's only a few chapters left before this one comes to an end. Thanks for sticking with me through this rough story. I appreciate you all and the comments as well. Also credit to Rihanna's "Te Amo," for the title of this chapter. xx****

Feeling her body being dragged down her front steps, Harleigha tried fighting against the tough grip that was tied in her hair. It was a futile effort though because next thing she knew she was face down in the grass with a boot to the back of her neck.

"Make one move or scream and I'll kill you."

That voice sent chills down her spine. She heard those last words one too many times and she knew that they were no bluff. However, she mustered enough strength to not show the fear that was bubbling in her body.

"Brandon are you really going to kill me in my front yard. You're a cop that would be dumb to kill me where there's a street filled with witnesses."

Plus if she did die today she didn't want Roman to witness it. Just thinking about the pain he'd go through was enough alone to kill her. However, it was clear that Brandon had other ideas.

"Well tough for you I have nothing to lose. If I can't have you then neither can your walking god of a boy toy. Get up."

He yanked her up by her hair so hard that her feet left the ground. She was no small woman so he had a lot of force behind that. He put his arm around her neck and held her in a choke hold. Next thing she knew she felt cold steel against her right temple. And just when she thought things couldn't get worse Brandon was calling Roman's name at the top of his lungs. She was hoping Roman wouldn't come outside but she knew that wasn't going to happen when she saw the curtains move from behind her huge side window. Next thing she knew Roman was throwing open her front door with a loud bang and a huge scowl was on his face. He started storming down the front steps that was until Seth jumped in front of him and Dean dragged him back.

"Let me go." He growled

"If we do that you'll get yourself shot and then what help will you be to her then? Huh?" asked Seth

"Well what do you want me to do Seth? I can't just leave her out there. I can't lose her."

"Big dog you won't. She's a fighter and she's lasted this long. So trust her." Said Seth

"Seth he has a gun to her head. What the hell fighting is she going to do if she doesn't end up getting shot first?"

"Look I don't have all the answers but rushing into this will have more people injured than we need right now."

Harleigha was looking at her front porch as she saw Roman huddled up with Dean and Seth talking about only God knows what. Whatever the conversation was she hoped it was to stop Roman from getting shot because she knew first chance he got he was going to go down swinging. Fists against a gun was a battle he was going to lose though.

"So what's it gonna be Roman?"

She felt the disgust in Brandon's voice. He hated Roman with a passion. Probably because Roman had her in ways only Brandon dreamt of.

"You gonna come get her or leave her to get taken out to pasture?"

Harleigha saw Roman twitch just slightly but he didn't move and she could tell him being helpless was killing him. He was a protector by nature so this was hell for him. His hands were tied. It was either lose his life or save hers and she didn't want him losing his so she could keep hers. That was not how this was about to go.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"You know exactly why."

"No I don't. Tell me Brandon."

"Don't act like you don't know Harleigha."

She felt the gun get pushed harder into her temple and she saw Roman getting antsy. Dean and Seth were struggling to keep him steady.

"Okay okay Brandon wait. Please tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it."

"I loved you."

"I know."

"Then why didn't you want to marry me? Did you not love me back?"

"You know I did. It's just we were too young and I wasn't ready."

And to some extent that was true. She did love him and at the time she thought he was the one but also something deep inside told her that marrying him would've been a mistake. Hell she'd been right in the long run and she had scars everywhere to prove it.

"Well are you ready now?"

"What?" She asked in a confused voice.

"Will you marry me now? We can go to the courthouse and get married right now."

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Roman yelled

"You open your mouth again and it will be over your dead body. And hers if you want to keep testing me." Brandon said in a sinister tone.

"Roman. I love you."

"Oh isn't that sweet. I saw you show him how much you loved him last night. Damn you're just as good as I remember you to be. But that all ends today. This is goodbye. Either we get married right now or you'll have a bullet in your skull. Your choice sweetheart."

She heard the gun cock loud in her ear and she only had a split second decision to attempt to save her own life once again.

"WAIT. FINE. FINE! Leave them alone and I'll marry you."

"Just what I wanted to hear."

Taking the gun from her head he lowered it but only to her back and turned to walk away. They didn't get very far before she heard tires skidding up her driveway and sirens from down the street. There were police and unmarked cars everywhere with policemen spilling out of them. Across the street there was also an all-black SUV and as she saw the door open it was the last person she expected.

"FBI! Put the gun down now."

"Get back or I drop her."

The gun was now back at her temple. Taking a deep breath she stared straight into the fierce burning brown eyes of her brother. She didn't know whether or not to be mad or relieved. One thing she could definitely count on was the fact that she was confused amongst being in fear for her life.

"Brandon if you don't drop that weapon right now one of these fine officers won't hesitate to drop you before you even get a shot off."

"Are you willing to play Russian Roulette with your sister's life right now?"

"No but I'm willing to play with yours. You've got three seconds. 3…2…."

Before Brian said one she saw him look to his far left and right. She couldn't see what he was looking at but she guessed there were snipers somewhere in the vicinity.

"Last chance Brandon."

She felt the gun twitch against her temple and she closed her eyes. This was it, she just knew it.

"Could've been us."

That was the last thing she heard before a shot rang out and she was on the ground. However, when she opened her eyes she saw a pool of blood next to her and Brandon's body limp and the sinister light in his eyes was gone. She started screaming hysterically and backing away as fast as her body could take her. Curling up in a ball in her front yard she couldn't control herself. Tears were streaming down her face, her body was shaking uncontrollably, and her voice was going hoarse from all the screaming she was doing.

"Hey baby, hey it's me."

When she saw the grey eyes of Roman she cried even more. This man had come into her life and despite everything she'd been through he stuck by her. How he hadn't given up on her by now she'd never understand but there weren't enough words in the dictionary to thank him. She just continued to cry even as he picked her up from the ground and carried her to the front porch. Dean had grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her as she sat in Roman's arms. She saw her sisters talking to Brian. That man had a lot of explaining to do and it looked like he was about to do just that as he headed towards her.

"You okay Harley?"

She smiled weakly at his nickname for her. It was a name she hadn't heard in years. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Not right now but I will be in due time. But you Mr. G man, you've got a lot of explaining to do. When did you join the Feds?"

"It's a long story, mind if we go inside so I can explain?"

"Sure."

With the help of Roman she headed back into her house with Brian being the last one inside. On her way in she noticed more police had showed up along with the medical examiner. The street was swarming with people but she couldn't dwell on that right now. Turning and looking at Brian she waited for him to explain as she wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and snuggled into Roman some more on the couch.

"First of all I want to apologize for everything. I wasn't here for any of you when I should've been and I can't go back and fix that. I have no legitimate explanation for leaving so I'm just going to save whatever punk ass excuse I could possibly come up with. I am just sincerely sorry."

"Brian I can't dwell on that right now."

"Harley I…"

"Don't worry about it right now. Just please explain." She pleaded with him.

"Okay. Well I joined the Feds about four and a half years ago. The reason why I didn't tell you the real reason I was in town was because we were working on something."

"Something as in Brandon?" asked Harleigha

"Yeah. I was stationed at the field office in Atlanta where I caught a case and his name popped up."

"What do you mean popped up?" asked Amaria

Brian just turned and looked at her with concern on his face. Kind of like he didn't want to tell her all the details.

"I want to know everything."

"Are you sure about that?" Brian asked

"Yes I'm sure."

"Alright then. Well during an investigation of a woman and her child his name came up. As I dug deeper it was found out that he was married to the victim and the child was his daughter."

"Wait what?" Harleigha asked

"He murdered them and fled up to New York where he set his sights back on you. I knew something was up when I saw the bodies and how much his wife resembled you. I wagered a guess that he was trying to replace you and when that wasn't working he severed all ties and went back for the real deal."

"How'd he even become a cop then?" asked Athena

"I really don't know. Apparently all the necessary precautions needed to become one he passed. Oh and when I got to town I found out he was the one who attacked mom."

"WHAT!" Athena and Amaria yelled at the same time.

"Yeah apparently he was trying to find out where you were and she wouldn't give you up. I don't know how he found her."

"This is all my fault."

"No it's not." Roman said from behind her.

"He's right Harley. This isn't your fault."

"Yes it is I should've just stayed with him or all these people wouldn't be dead or injured because of me. Could've saved a lot of trouble. Mom wouldn't be in hospital, Amaria wouldn't have gotten harassed by him, his wife and kid might still be alive if it wasn't for me. So yes this is my fault."

"It was there life or yours sis." Brian said

"And I'd rather it of been mine."

She felt Roman stiffen behind her but she that wasn't going to make her change her statement. Four lives for the price of one was something she didn't want on her hands.

"Twin you can't change the past. Despite the lives that have been affected because of Brandon's actions shouldn't lie on you. You are victim of his wrath and that is not your fault. If you'd have stayed with him we may not have a sister right now. A sister that watched over us even when she was struggling. A sister who taught us what was right and wrong and what we should and shouldn't stand for. You were there when other people weren't when they should've been. You made the right choice to leave him because so many people including yourself are better for it."

"But…"

"No buts. You can't change what happened. He's dead and he can't hurt anybody else. I know that you think this is your fault but he made the decision to destroy so many lives and that will never be on you."

"I hate it when you're right Amaria."

"I know." She chuckled

"I'm sorry we couldn't eat brunch."

"After all that just happened she's worried about brunch." Laughed Athena

"I'm sure Roman could eat the whole table." Mumbled Seth

"Oh shut up two toned." Roman laughed

"Hey we'll leave you two alone. How about we come back and get you in a few hours." Said Dean

"Y'all got a show tonight don't you? Go ahead Roman I'll be fine."

"No I'm not leaving you until I have too."

"Roman…"

"Hush I'm not arguing with you on this."

"We'll come back over this evening and we can have a movie night. How's that?" asked Athena

"I don't need babysitters but if it makes you feel better sure." She smirked at her sister.

"Good glad that's settled."

Roman picked her up and placed her softly back on the couch and headed to the front door. The last person to leave was her brother. She noticed him and Roman had a short conversation that ended in a handshake. Much different from their last encounter. Harleigha smiled from under the blanket because she never thought she'd reach this day. If anybody had to ask her if hell was real she'd say yes because she'd lived in it every day. But she would also tell them that it was possible to come out on the other side. You just needed determination and a few people to enter your life who legitimately cared about you. Those kinds of people didn't come along often so she was extremely blessed to have Roman in her life.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30: I Found You

 ***First of all credit goes to The Wanted for the title of this chapter. Second I'm sure you all will have some questions about a certain detail that comes out in this chapter. Well that's if you remember *wink wink*. I promise it will be resolved in the next few chapters. Enjoy. xx****

"What was that all about?"

"What was what about?" Roman asked as he locked the front door after her brother.

She stared at him with what she felt was admiration and pride on her face. Whatever that conversation was about she knew it was a step in the right direction for Roman and her brother. She knew it wasn't going to be an easy road for the two considering how Brian had left her and his sisters for so long. So now what seemed like forever ago when they were ready to kill each other they were able to put whatever differences they had aside for her sake. That meant a lot to her. Family was a big deal and Roman knew that, considering family meant just as much to him.

"I want to know what you said to my brother."

"Just know we've come to a sort of understanding."

"Oh. Care to elaborate on that?"

"Not really. Just know when it comes to you we will do anything to protect you. That goes for your sisters as well. Now enough about that. How are you doing?"

"You know you're good at deflecting." She said this as more of a statement than a question.

Her brother didn't do a very good job of protecting her before but she kept those thoughts to herself. He couldn't just come back and think that him saving her now would wipe away all his other actions. She truly appreciated him saving her life this time but that wasn't an automatic pass. They all had a lot of things to figure out.

"Yes I do. You gonna answer my question?" he laughed

"What was your question?" She asked, watching him make his way over to the couch. Instead of sitting at her feet, he sat her up before laying her head in his lap. His large hand was running up and down her arm under the cover that she was still bundled up in. She hadn't realized how cold she still was until just the feeling of his touch started to warm her from the inside out.

"I asked how are you doing?" He whispered in her ear.

"I'm doing much better now that I'm next to you." she replied

"Good. Now I've got another question."

"What is this another game of twenty questions?" She asked thinking back to when he first wanted to play twenty questions with her. It's crazy to think that was almost ten months ago. They had come a long way. From the days where she was scared to so much as look him in the eye til now when all she wanted to do was get lost in his grey orbs. Despite the bump in the road with his wife and daughter she still loved him with all her heart and she knew he did as well. He had seen her at her very worst and still stuck by her side. She really couldn't have asked for a better man to come into her life. Even after she thought that was no longer possible, he more than proved different.

"No this isn't twenty questions just one."

"Okay I think I can handle that."

She waited quietly for Roman to ask his pressing question. His silence didn't bother her until she felt him starting to bounce his knee a little. That small twitch caused her to sit up and look at him. The look she got startled her to the core. He looked nervous and that was one emotion she'd never seen from him. Was he breaking up with her? Just that thought alone made her want to puke. They couldn't have made it through all of this just to throw in the towel now.

"Roman are you…" She couldn't finish asking her question because he reached over and gave her a searing hot kiss. It nearly took her breath away it was so unexpected. However, despite that kiss he was still worrying her.

"Sorry I just needed to do that before I said what I need to say."

"I appreciated that kiss but you're scaring me big man."

"Scaring you why?"

"Because you got mad silent and started twitching. I thought I did something wrong."

"Lei, you could never do anything wrong. It's just what I wanted to ask you I had planned to wait but after what just transpired I realized I couldn't wait. I just learned with a swiftness that tomorrow isn't promised and you've got to take opportunities as they're presented to you. You came into my life during a time I was struggling to be who I am. With Makayla jumping down my throat and all the traveling away from my daughter so much I was losing myself. I would drown my pity in other women who would ultimately get attached and want something more than I could give. However, you came in, so different from everybody else. Strong but shy. Broken but willing to be fixed. An introvert but also an extrovert. I've never met someone like you and I don't know what I'd do without you. So with that being said, Harleigha will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Harleigha just sat in silence. The last time someone asked her to marry them she said no and ended up paying dearly for that. She knew what Roman said was the truth but everything from what Brandon did was rushing back to her. Roman was everything she wanted in a man. There really was no one better than him. She knew her sisters would approve hell even her brother would. However, there was that voice in the back of her mind that kept telling her what if this ended up being another mistake.

"Roman I…" She said softly.

"Lei we don't have to get married today. I just want everybody to know that you're officially off the market."

That last sentence was bone chilling. That was exactly what Brandon had said to her. Completely verbatim. Something was off. This couldn't be real.

"HOLY SHIT!"

Sitting up Harleigha struggled to catch her breath. Looking around she realized she was no longer on the couch. Blinking her eyes open, letting her eyes adjust she noticed that she was back in her room snuggled under the covers in her queen sized bed. So it was all a dream. She guessed that was a good thing. Well that was until she noticed a huge diamond ring on her left finger as she went to run her hands across her face.

Jerking her head around she noticed Roman was smiling up at her.

"Roman what?"

"Calm down you said yes." He laughed

"But I…" She didn't remember anything. Was this another dream?

"You passed out after you answered my question. I think your body had officially given out on you."

She sat in silence and thought back to everything that happened. She remembered coming into the house and laying on the couch as she waited for Roman to finish talking to her brother. She remembered Roman coming to sit next to her on the couch. After that everything went blank. However, she didn't think Roman was lying to her about her saying yes.

"Lei if it makes you feel better do you want me to propose to you again?"

"Yeah. I'd actually like to truly remember this moment. Let's be real if I don't remember it doesn't count." She laughed.

She felt the bed shift as Roman got up and came around to kneel in front of her. She'd never seen a more beautiful man in her life and he was all hers. Who'd of thought that her life could change drastically in the span of ten months.

"Harleigha Monroe will you please do me the absolute best honor of being my wife? Again?"

"Yes! Again." She jumped in his arms and kissed him full on the mouth. This is what pure bliss must feel like because she felt like she was on cloud nine. Despite how the day started this was the best day of her life and she surprisingly wouldn't change it for the world.

"I found you." He whispered in her ear before they went back to kissing.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Follow You

 **First of all credit to Bring Me the Horizon for the title of this chapter. Second of all thank you to everyone who has stuck with me throughout this story. Roman/Harleigha have sadly come to an end. Sorry that it took so long to post I have been having computer troubles lately. Hopefully you all enjoyed this as much as I did. Never thought I'd survive a Roman story yet here we are. Got more stories to come so be on the lookout. Thank you again. xx**

 _3 years later…_

 _Oh how time flies, Harleigha thought to herself as she went to put her twins to sleep in their room. In three years since her life-threatening experience, Roman had married her, gotten full custody of his daughter Samaria, and they moved from her place in New York down to Pensacola. It was a lot to take in but they had now settled down and she was the happiest she'd ever been in a long time. Her sisters Athena and Amaria were doing well with their jobs and men. Athena had finally taken over her head position working with their mother at their fashion company in New York and Amaria was a District Attorney for the city of Newark in New Jersey. All in all, they were doing quite well for themselves._

"ROMAN GET THE DOOR!" she heard Roman rustling around in the kitchen. From the window of her twin daughter's bedroom she saw his daughter pull up in the driveway with her grandparents. Samaria stayed with them during the week and his parents on the weekend. After the messy divorce and custody battle two years ago, they finally got custody of her. She treated her like she was her own and did her best to do for her what her mother clearly didn't. From what she heard his ex-wife had fallen apart. They had to get a restraining order for Roman and his daughter. For a while after the divorce she somehow managed to find out what events he'd be doing and show up begging for him to take her back. Finally, he said enough was enough.

"Momma Lei!"

Turning around, she saw Samaria running into the room with Roman close behind her.

"Hey baby girl. How are you?"

"I'm good. Can I hold her?"

"Sure but you have to go sit in the rocking chair first."

While Samaria got herself settled into the rocking chair, Harleigha settled her now 8-month old daughter Aaliyah in her arms. Her twin sister Artemis was fast asleep in her crib. As she slowly walked over to Samaria, Aaliyah snuggled closer into her chest. All she could do was smile because she looked so much like Roman. Not only did Roman change her life but the life of their daughters did as well, Samaria included. A family was not something she ever imagined she would get to experience but she now had that in spades. She was truly blessed.

"You ready?" she asked before bending over to place Aaliyah in Samaria's arms.

"Hold her head okay."

"She just looks like daddy."

Harleigha looked up at Roman who was leaning against the door jam. He looked like he was on the verge of crying so she quietly shut the door behind her and leaned him against the wall.

"You okay baby?"

He looked down at her and just kissed her.

"Have I told you today how much I love you?"

"You may have mentioned it once or twice." She smirked at him.

"Well let me say it again for good measure. I love you Harleigha Monroe Danielle Reigns."

"Damn dropped the whole name I feel honored. I love you too big dawg."

"You've certainly survived a lot and I'm honored to have you as my wife."

"Couldn't have done it without you."

"You were doing fine well before I came into your life I was just that last piece."

"And the last piece was the most important one."

Wrapping his arms around her, together they walked to their daughters' room where Samaria was still rocking in the chair with Aaliyah fast asleep in her arms. Everything had finally come full circle in her life and she knew that together they would conquer the world. With Roman being on the road it was hard but over the past three years she had come to accept that and no matter what she would always be there and proud of whatever venture he decided to take. Wrestling was something he worked hard for and she wouldn't ask him to stop. He didn't know it but every Monday night she would sit them all together in the living room and watch him. Their kids would know what kind of man their dad was not only at home but in that ring. He was their hero. Forever and always.


End file.
